This week, we welcome National Columnist Gregg Doyel from CBSSports.com to talk a little March Madness. This episode, as always, is rated R so potentially NSFW.

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 120 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

• March Madness
• Derek Anderson shooting his mouth on his way out
• The return of Tiger Woods
• Ben Roethlisberger in trouble agian
• Torii Hunter and his imposters
• The Taxonomy of Bitches
• Miscellaneous: sex offending draft prospect, Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield (again), and the Oscars.

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Hope you guys enjoy the podcast. If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating on itunes so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email (editor@sportscolumn.com) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

Poor Man’s PTI is back!  After a brief mid-winter hiatus, Ryan and Vin are back running down the biggest and dumbest stories for the week in sports. This week we’re also launching the Stat Boy half-hour where Burton aka Stat Boy is all growns up and is doing his own show with Tony Kornheiser Mike Ciccarone.

This episode, as always, is rated R so potentially NSFW.

You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 120 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

• Canada wins hockey gold. Was it ok to root for them?
• Other Olympic stories including media whores, fellating a medal, curling
• Tiger Woods
• NBA Talk: Lebron’s just trying to sell more jerseys than Kobe
• NFL Talk: Potential change in OT rules
• Miscellaneous: Hank Gathers, womens basketball (yes, that’s correct) and the perils of chatroullete
• We finally joined twitter: http://twitter.com/poormanspti

Hope you guys enjoy the podcast. If you did enjoy it, please give us a good rating on itunes so we can rise up in the rankings. If you didn’t, send us an email (editor@sportscolumn.com) and give us some suggestions. Thanks for listening.

It was right there for the taking. Or the shaking, if you will. The Sixers, the fans, the organization — so close to shedding the dead weight of Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala’s contracts — and Ed Stefanski let it get away.

There is no guarantee the deal was in place and that Houston would have pulled the trigger, but there certainly was every indication that the Rockets were seriously considering taking Iguodala and Dalembert in exchange for McGrady and trade filler. No matter what it took, this deal should have been made. But Stefanski in his stubbornness (or is it lame-duckness) refused to trade for anything other than players to improve the team this year.

In the end, this last obstinate stroke will be the final nail in the Stefanski era in Philadelphia, one mired in mediocrity and miscalculation.  Unlike most,  I don’t fault Stefanski for the Elton Brand deal. But his refusal to own up to his mistakes and wipe the slate clean for the organization, whether for himself or the next GM, will be what ultimately makes his tenure one that is, and this is hard to fathom, worse than the one helmed by Billy King.

Let’s quickly dispense with Dalembert. His ridiculous contract (and trade kicker to boot) is what has me cursing Billy King’s name every day as a Sixers fan. I don’t have to spend much time deriding Dalembert, he pretty much handles that himself every night on the court. If they measured basketball IQ like the Wonderlic, he’d be around Vince Young territory.

Most people will point to the Elton Brand signing as the move that doomed the current Sixers team. But even though he is no longer the 20/10 guy he was in LA, Elton Brand can be a consistent starter that gives you occasional dominant games if he is paired with a competent coach (i.e. not Eddie Jordan.) Elton Brand isn’t the problem.

The real problem with the Sixers right now is Andre Iguodala. Iguodala is a fine basketball player. He does a lot of things well and most likely would have contributed mightily to a Houston Rockets team (or Phoenix Suns) with the proper mix of players. Unfortunately, somehow Iguodala and the Sixers have convinced themselves that Andre Iguodala is The Man.

Los Angeles. March 17, 2009. Sixers down by 93-91 with 6 seconds left to play. Andre Miller inbounds to Iguodala, Iguodala dribbles to the top of the arc. 1.5 seconds left and Iguodala launches a three that goes in! The Sixers win the game!  The Sixers win the game!

That is the type of play that defines Andre Iguodala. In Iguodala’s mind.

Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” Iguodala might as well not even take them. The Sixers have played in 17 games decided by 4 points or less, going 8 and 9. In those 9 losses, Iguodala had the ball in his hands with the clock winding down with a chance to win or tie 5 times and missed every single time. This doesn’t even count the half dozen times he’s had the ball in his hands with a chance to pull the Sixers within one possession late into the game and tossed up brick after brick.

Iguodala did technically have one game winner with free throws against Denver with 15 seconds left. Meanwhile, game winning shots in those 8 games were poured in by guys named Young, Speights, Brand, Williams, and even Dalembert.

I don’t want to dump Iguodala simply because he isn’t clutch. Iguodala is a nice player. The problem is the disconnect between Ed Stefanski, Andre Iguodala, and anyone else that watches the games. Ed and Andre think he’s a centerpiece when he clearly is just a complementary player. He averages 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game. That’s not bad. But that’s not an All-Star and certainly not someone you build your team around.

Dalembert’s contract expires after the 2010/2011 season, Elton Brand is paid through 2012/2013, and Andre Iguodala is signed through 2013/2014, with the final year a player option. Who is going to pay Iguodala $16M in 2013? Who is going to save Ed Stefanski from himself? Last I checked, Isiah Thomas has been exiled to Elba, and Kevin McHale isn’t Stefanski’s golfing buddy.

By refusing to correct the mistakes of his and Billy King’s tenure, Ed Stefanski has saddled the future of the Sixers with overpaid dead weight, dragging the team and the fanbase into territory most often plumbed by the likes of the Clippers and the Knicks. The Rockets teased us with a life preserver but Stefanski decided he’d rather go down with the ship. It’s been almost ten years since the Sixers miraculous run to the NBA finals. With this administration’s decision making, it might be ten more.

By Ryan McGowan

February is the dark month in the sports calendar.  The Super Bowl is over, baseball hasn’t started yet (unless you count “Truck Day”), the NBA is just going through the motions until the home stretch, and the NHL is shut down for two weeks.  We didn’t even have the Pro Bowl this February to kick around.  I don’t consider Daytona to be a sport.  February is the sports equivalent of a six-month hookup dry spell which can only be cured by a visit from a certified slump buster.

For many people this year, the Olympics were their 2 AM chubby booty call.  Unfortunately, I am pretty much anti-Olympics (except for hockey and curling), because the Olympics are the kind of event that poseur non-sports fans really get into, ostensibly to show how worldly and sophisticated they are that they sit glued to their TV’s watching grown men and women who were cut in high school from the real sports dance on ice and perform 360-degree flips on a snowboard.  I’m not demeaning their sports—I’m sure I couldn’t slalom down a snow-filled mountain, except if maybe I were obnoxiously and heinously drunk, in which case I wouldn’t be surprised at anything I could do.  It’s just the pretentious “fans” that annoy me, and spite is a great motivator.

Which is why in February I like to turn to my own version of a clinging ex-girlfriend: the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association basketball tournament.  Readers may or may not know this, but I coach high school basketball at a small school north of Boston, and I have always especially enjoyed a good tournament atmosphere.  (In the interest of full disclosure, my team did not participate in this year’s tournament, having just endured a 2-18 “rebuilding” season.   On second thought, it was more like “reloading”, as in reloading for the inevitable plane crash that is sure to be the 2010-2011 season.)  With my own competitive interest in the tournament over, I have set out over the past week to fully indulge myself in February Madness.  It was either that, or concentrate more on work.  Pretty easy choice, really.

One of the reasons the tournament still holds such a fascination for me is the memories from my youth that it inspires.  As a kid, my dad often took me to regular season and tournament high school games, often culminating in a trip to the old Boston Garden for a triple-header of Eastern Mass championship games, starting with the smaller Division 3 teams and finishing with the mighty Division 1 powerhouses such as Brockton, South Boston, Central Catholic, New Bedford, and Durfee.  Every once in a while we got to see a local team from our area play out a Cinderella run to make it to the Garden, such as the state champion North Attleboro girls or the Bishop Feehan boys, who lost on the parquet to eventual New York Knick Rick Brunson and Salem High in 1991.  Either way, it was always a treat to be able to get to the Garden early and have your choice of seats—it was usually the only time we got to sit in the lower section.

And now that I’ve taught and coached at a number of schools around the area, tournament time is the only chance I get to catch up with coaches and kids I’ve worked with over the past 10 years.  When the pairings were released last Friday, I immediately scoured them to see the various schools I have connections to, and when they’d be playing.  Strangely enough, it looked like it was going to work out that I’d be able to attend a different game each night.  Welcome to High School Hoops Odyssey 2010.

Amazingly, my fiancée Jen was more than willing to accompany me on my quixotic quest, which definitely deserves a heartfelt mention in this column.  We started out on Monday night with the Everett (where I currently teach, but not coach) girls team, which opened the first round of the Division 1 North tournament at the much higher seeded Peabody, a school whose nickname (Tanners) represents a long history of leatherworking.  Somehow I don’t think it’s still a major industry in town.  Still it pales in comparison to Everett, a school which has the 49ers colors and uniforms (at least in football), Notre Dame’s fight song, and Alabama’s nickname (yes, Everett is the Crimson Tide).  Everett-Peabody is always an interesting game because of the two schools’ long-time (but currently dormant) rivalry in football, and the fact that Peabody tends to be the next stop for many upwardly mobile Everett natives who want to move out of the triple-decker that’s been housing their family since the Wilson administration.  Despite a valiant effort from the Tide, the Tanners prevailed by 15 or so.

Next on the docket was the Brookline girls’ team taking on the Quincy Presidents in a preliminary round game in Division 1 South.  Three years ago I was an assistant at Brookline, and it was in the middle of (yet another) rebuilding period, where we had a similar season to the one we just had this year.   Well, as high school sports tend to go, success is cyclical, and this year’s Brookline team appears to have some legitimate studs.  Go figure.  The matchup with Quincy is interesting in many ways, not the least of which is the contrast between two places that are geographically close but couldn’t be farther apart demographically.  While Brookline is home to many families who are wealthy, often Jewish, professionals, Quincy is a working-class and middle-class semi-suburb where people still refer to themselves as being from a specific neighborhood in town rather than Quincy itself.  However, since Brookline participates in Boston’s METCO program to bus inner-city kids to suburban schools (and Quincy doesn’t), the Brookline team had a decidedly different racial makeup than the Quincy team.  The game was a track meet, with not a lot of defense on either ends, and Brookline finally prevailing, 75-64.  Yay.

Wednesday and Thursday saw Jen and I attending games played by my alma mater, Bishop Feehan High School of Attleboro, a school that I both taught and coached at in my first three years out of college.  Being in touch still with the coaches for both the girls and boys teams, I try to make it a point to see at least one game each year.  Wednesday I saw the #9 seeded girls team defeat the #8 Sharon Eagles on the road by one in overtime, which featured a driving layup by a Feehan sophomore with about six seconds left in the extra period to win.  That win sent the Shamrocks to face the Division 2 South #1 seed, Fontbonne Academy, on Saturday.  Thursday night saw the Feehan boys’ team blow out Greater New Bedford Voke, 86-64.  Two kids from Feehan put on impressive offensive displays (29 and 28 points) and they ran away with the game.

Friday was a bonus stop on my odyssey, with the North Attleboro boys (my brother’s alma mater) having advanced to Round 2 of the Division 1 South tournament to face the #1 seed Madison Park, a Boston public school in the heart of Roxbury, a traditionally African-American neighborhood in the middle of the city.  Typically these games between all-white suburban teams and mostly minority Boston teams are contests of athleticism vs. fundamentals, and for a while it looked like fundamentals was going to win out—North Attleboro had a 10-point lead at 14-4 in the first quarter and was exploiting tons of Madison Park brain farts.  The game quickly turned, however, and MP showed they weren’t just an undisciplined streetball team, eventually winning 80-61.  Basketball wisdom: a team that can throw down nasty alley-oop dunks and make fundamental bounce passes and break presses is a team to be reckoned with.

Finally, on Saturday, I trekked back to Quincy to see the Feehan girls lose to the #1 seed Fontbonne by 8.  Good game, good season, lost to a better team.  Can’t ask for much more.

I realize that 99% of SportsColumn readers will have given up by now, having of course no reason to read my explanations of random Massachusetts high school basketball games.  Fair enough.  But if you are still reading, the point of my description of the 2010 Basketball Odyssey is simple: for all the negativity that we see in our professional sports on a daily basis, for all the Gilbert Arenases and T.O.’s and steroids scandals and greedy owners and ungrateful players and all the other stuff we love to complain about, it’s helpful sometimes to be reminded of why sports is so compelling.

Most people don’t make it out to see their local high school games unless they have a connection to someone, but it could be fun and refreshing to check out a random game every so often.  You might have the same reaction as I do when I go to the tournament every year—recalling fond memories of youth, being impressed by young people who step up in the heat of competition, and feeling sympathy for those whose athletic careers often just ended with that last-second loss.

Or you could stay home and watch Olympic hockey.  Which, as the Vancouver games showed, might not be a bad thing either.  But that’s a discussion for another time.  Either way, February doesn’t have to be a lost sports month after all.  You might, however, just need to go out and find it for yourself.

By Diane M. Grassi

In 2006, this reporter shed light on the seemingly unfair labor practices taking place in the Central American country of Costa Rica, in a factory operated by the Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc., and now a subsidiary of the multi-national corporation, Jarden Corp. As we embark upon the 2010 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, let us take another look back on this important issue regarding free trade and on that which has transpired since.

At that time, Rawlings was a subsidiary of K2, Inc., primarily a snowboard and in-line skate manufacturer. Then in 2007, Jarden absorbed all of K2’s holdings and Rawlings became one of the many assets of Jarden’s portfolio.

The Jarden Corp.’s holdings, prior to 2007, had primarily been in the consumer household goods industry, such as with Mr. Coffee®, Oster®, Holmes® and CrockPot®. It became pro-active in the purchase of outdoor clothing and camping equipment companies such as ExOfficio and Coleman and then with the purchase of K2, which owned Rawlings, Jarden became a force in the professional sporting goods industry as well.

But much like the way corporate takeovers can surface rapidly and on a global scale, with what appears as little hands-on management, corporations’ goods are then subject to manufacture in far-off lands with little oversight, too. And unfortunately, this accomplished strategy, having culminated primarily over the past 25 years, has enjoyed the muscle and delight of the U.S. government and other state governing bodies of countries throughout the world. Unfortunately, global trade does little to improve the standard of living and human condition of the citizens living in such impoverished countries, where many global giants relocate.
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Since this last report, to wit, Costa Rica has become a member of the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). Costa Rica, the oldest democracy in Central America, held a voters’ referendum in 2007, giving its citizens a voice as to whether they would like to join DR-CAFTA.

The United States Congress rushed through DR-CAFTA in record time, over several months in 2005, but never expected a country such as Costa Rica to actually fight its demands or to obstruct its rush-through process; for all six other CAFTA countries – El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic – were all on board by 2007. As it were, approval for DR-CAFTA was barely passed by Costa Rican voters, and it was not until January 1, 2009 that Costa Rica formally became another Free Trade Zone in Central America.

Few working for or playing in MLB, or for that matter most people living in the U.S., are aware that Free Trade Zones are but a win for the U.S. government and multi-national corporations operating offshore, only. Such corporate entities are not required to pay taxes or tariffs, are allowed to import their supplies duty-free, and electricity and water usage are subsidized. Yet, they are not responsible or required to enforce labor and environmental policies, that would be required had they remained doing business in the U.S.

The following contains parts of the 2006 article, that encapsulates the story of Rawlings Sporting Goods, Inc. and its subsidiary, Rawlings de Costa Rica, S.A., and its manufacture of some 2.2 million baseballs each year made by hand. These laborers work for MLB’s gain, its billionaire owners, and multi-millionaire players, who largely remain mum on this topic to date:

As America’s National Pastime has continued to rake in record high revenues over the past several years – in the billions of dollars each season – MLB continues to remain deaf to its critics concerning the manufacture of its Official Baseball, apparel and other accessories, with regard to unfair labor practices in the Third World.

In 2004, a 60-page report produced by the National Labor Committee (NLC), an international labor rights organization, entitled, Foul Ball, initially exposed the poor working conditions of the Rawlings baseball factory in the remote city of Turrialba, Costa Rica.

MLB had a tepid response to such claims. Then, following the report, life-long consumer advocate, Ralph Nader, wrote a letter to both MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig, and then-Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) Executive Director, Donald Fehr, to address Rawlings’ labor practices. Selig referred Nader’s letter to his legal department and Donald Fehr said he was unaware of such claims. Neither man ever followed up.

In 2005, the United States government entered into the DR-CAFTA, allowing for further tax breaks, duty-free tariffs and Free Trade Zone status for U.S. corporations doing business in Central America, without providing for any policing of unfair labor practices in such offshore locales. Although the Agreement contained language to that effect, there is no enforcement mechanism or political will to instill such.

And instead of it taking the lead in calling-out such a worldwide problem, MLB, through its silence, therefore remains complicit in such exploitation by multi-national corporations throughout the Third World, and especially those that are U.S.-based.
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The facts are quite stunning as to what goes into the manufacture of a Major League baseball and the sometimes physically debilitating toll workers take in order to produce some 2.2 million balls utilized each MLB season, in addition to the Minor Leagues and the NCAA College World Series, with which the Jarden Corp., on behalf of Rawlings, also exclusively contracts.

Rawlings has been operating its baseball factory out of Costa Rica since 1988, as it gradually transitioned its factories from the country of Haiti, during its period of government unrest in the late 1980’s. Since 1990, Rawlings has produced all of MLB’s baseballs in Costa Rica, with its non-professional baseballs manufactured in China.

Although Rawlings also contracts with the National Football League (NFL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) in producing some of its balls and accessories, the baseball itself perhaps best symbolizes all-things-American and is therefore worthy of the attention it garners from critics of the Rawlings factory.

The approximate 600 workers at the baseball factory in Turrialba are either “sewers” who stitch the cowhide covers onto the baseball’s sphere, or they are “assemblers” or “winders”, responsible for assembling the core’s parts, made of two kinds of rubber and cork, and the winding of the ball’s four different grades of yarn. Those who stitch are required to complete 108 stitches into the cowhide leather of each ball by hand.

Each sewer must complete one ball every 15 minutes. They are required to reach a minimum quota of 156 balls per week, in a factory without air conditioning, in temperatures exceeding 100°, requiring permission to use bathrooms, and prohibits workers from speaking to each other on the factory floor. The hours that workers put in average 11 -12 per day and they must always reserve their Saturdays for the factory, in the event an “emergency order” comes through. If not available on Saturday, they are subject to termination.

The gross wages per worker average $1.50 per hour. Workers can earn up to an additional $8.00 per week if they reach the threshold of completing 180 baseballs in one week. Baseball factory workers earn more than the country’s minimum wage but are subject the Costa Rican Labor Ministry for any increases in the minimum wage. Provided they reach the minimum weekly ball quota each week, workers are compensated an additional 25-30 cents per baseball by Rawlings. Should they not reach the minimum quota they again risk being terminated.

The physical impact endured by the sewers has left about one-third of them with carpal tunnel syndrome or repetitive stress injuries, including permanent disability, after just two or three years of stitching. And sadly, most MLB players have no knowledge that every baseball manufactured is done so solely by hand under such conditions. Should a worker miss any length of time greater than a couple of days of work, due to illness or injury, they can be easily replaced due to the desperate employment situation. And their healthcare, thereafter, is in doubt.
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Costa Rica, always reliant upon its agriculture to sustain its people and to provide jobs, was dependent upon coffee and sugar cane as its main exports. Yet, in the past several years, as prices for coffee in particular rose, a good part its coffee exports, including its sugar cane industry, lost out to Nicaragua, as even cheaper labor costs prevail there. Some labor experts directly blame the impact of DR-CAFTA on the erosion of the agricultural industry in Costa Rica; the opposite of DR-CAFTA’s supposed intent.

Because of the loss of agricultural jobs, the baseball factory now largely sustains the city of Turrialba and its population of 30,000. Rawlings has its workers over a barrel, as they know jobs are scarce, with many more willing to endure such a tough and pressurized work environment.

The NLC as well as the International Labor Committee (ILO) have called upon Rawlings of Costa Rica, S.A. to modify some of its working conditions. Rawlings was asked to provide ergonomics training for workers in order to reduce repetitive stress injuries; to provide workers with a better wage and to increase the amount of incentives based upon levels of production. Yet, Rawlings U.S. deferred to Rawlings de Costa Rica, S.A. and the Costa Rican government.

And the NLC emphasizes the need to allow the workers the right to organize in order to regulate problematic issues, without fear of being fired or reprisal, such as forced overtime or forced layoffs after 3 months, before workers can earn any legal rights. Currently, the workers are well aware that any talk of labor unions will get them dismissed and fear that the factory will go the way of its agricultural industry and relocate to a country where labor is cheaper.

Unfortunately, as the result of doing business abroad, corporations are still subject to the labor laws of the respective country in which they do business. In the case of Costa Rica, there remains a lack of oversight, follow-up or initially filed documents by the Labor Ministry for worker complaints, throughout all industries.

With respect to collective bargaining, it is permissible by law, but is discouraged in the workplace, with employers encouraging workers to join “solidarity associations” instead. These groups are allowed to assemble but are prevented from collective bargaining and are partially financed by the employer.

Ralph Nader previously demanded that MLB and the MLBPA, “Adopt internationally recognized workers’ rights standards and effective enforcement mechanisms, as a core condition governing all of its product sourcing and license agreements.” Yet, much like the U.S. government’s claim it cannot fully enforce its Free Trade Agreements, MLB can make the same claim when it comes to its licensees or subcontractors. Thus, passing the buck becomes an accepted practice and it is chalked it up to the price of doing business in the U.S. and abroad.

Ralph Nader, at the time, went on to say that, “We cannot tell you that it comes as a shock to us that MLB properties do not have any workers’ rights guidelines in their licensing agreements. Nor are we surprised by the irony of the Players Associations’ Strike Fund being supported by royalties from products which might be made by Third World workers stripped of their own rights. The irony is bitter.”

MLB stands pat in that, “Our agreements routinely include provisions that require our partners to comply with applicable laws including those related to employment and workplace safety. At the same time, I am sure you understand that we are not in a position to actively regulate the practices of each and every separate company with which we do business.” No, but they could start with the ball; its centerpiece.
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It is not too late for MLB and its superstars to take a stand on workers’ rights, regardless of lax U.S. laws in the world of Free Trade and its Agreements’ legal loopholes. And important to note – although it has only been 1 year since DR-CAFTA has been realized in Costa Rica – its exports to the U.S. fell 15%, imports from the U.S. to Costa Rica fell 30%, unemployment rose to 7.8% from 4.9% in 2008 and Foreign Direct Investment from other countries fell approximately 30%. Economists will conveniently blame the global recession on these bleak figures, but it represents many Costa Ricans’ worst nightmares coming true.

The sweatshop culture in the U.S. ended with the enactment of labor laws and the rise of labor unions. However, one must ask that private industry as well as the U.S. government be held accountable. For not only are both culpable in the permanent export of U.S. jobs, but both stand by – eyes wide open – as workers in other countries, without many of the freedoms U.S. citizens enjoy, are blatantly exploited. For there is no “free trade,” as someone ultimately pays.

Take a stand MLB! Perhaps now is the time for Rawlings to go.

Copyright ©2010 Diane M. Grassi
Contact: dgrassi@cox.net

Nothing speaks to us sports fans like accomplishments that go into the record books. When a running back breaks his school’s rushing records or a basketball guard sets the mark for the number of assists in a season we sit up and take notice, but how often are these new records based on an uneven playing field?

This issue was brought back to my attention while watching the Pittsburgh – Cincinnati Big East Game which is the 12th game of their season. The announcers were going on about Dion Lewis, whose 1,640 yards are 46 shy of Dorsett’s freshman season total of 1,686 yards in 1973. However, Tony Dorsett had 1 less game to get those yards.

College sport is a bit worse than professional sports where season totals are kept separate from the Play-offs. If Lewis gets those 46 yards in their bowl game then he breaks Dorsett’s mark, but with an extra game. However, what about marks from before when teams played only 9 games (10 if they made a bowl). In conferences where there is a championship game they can have as many as 14 games now and all of them count for their season totals. It seems unfair that some great marks are being passed just because there are 4 more games.

This argument clearly circumvents all sports where seasons have become longer. Another current case in point would be the possibility that Titans running back Chris Johnson might break Eric Dickerson’s mark of 2,105 yards. However, O.J. Simpson ran for 2003 yards in 1973 in a 14-game season. As he was averaging over 140 yards per game that year we have to ask what he could have done with 2 more games.

The same principles could be applied to the technical aspects that have changed their sports. When swimming records are being broke right and left at a particular meet it is not just due to the new swimsuits, but things such as pool temperature and other conditions are much more ideal than they used to be. Track & Field athletes have modern track surfaces, better shoes and even their clothing is more air resistant.

In some cases the longer seasons might be considered a handicap for the pursuit of certain records. In baseball, most people consider DiMaggio’s mark of 56 straight games with a hit to be one record that will never fall. One problem, according to experts, is that the longer season takes a bigger toll on the players. Even a physical specimen and dominant player like Albert Pujols takes days off during a season that are not related to any direct injuries. It is having a similar effect on pitching marks as pitchers are completing fewer games to keep them as healthy as possible.

You hear about “an asterisk” being applied to records. Major League Baseball’s home run record has one according to many due to the probability that steroids contributed to many of the big numbers in recent years. Many sporting bodies have considered separating their records based on the length of a season and this seems the fairest solution when that is possible, but records based on single games or season averages wouldn’t necessarily require that approach.

In reality, outside of individual sports where records are based on speed, height or distance much of this is not that important, but we are a culture that is infatuated with statistics and records are the ultimate expression of that. We love the guy who breaks the single-season touchdown record, the scoring leader, the fastest runner, the longest jumper. It just seems a shame that records of old that were considered to be untouchable have been or will be beaten on an unfair playing field…and that just seems to defeat the whole meaning behind “sports”.

We break down Super Bowl XLIV, talk commercials, and wrap up the 2009/2010 NFL Season.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Ahhhh the Super Bowl. Despite all the hype, the 8 hour pregame show, and the 48 minute halftime, it’s still one of the best spectacles of the year. We break down the Super Bowl matchup and have some fun with prop bets.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Here are are the latest Super Bowl Prop Bets and Super Bowl Odds.

NFL 2009/2010 Super Bowl XLIV Picks

Straight Up

Against the Spread

* The peso is a coin flip of an old peso to pick the game.
]]> http://www.sportscolumn.com/2010/02/05/super-bowl-xliv-picks-and-podcast/feed/ 0 http://www.sportscolumn.com/2010/02/04/2nd-annual-all-you-need-to-know-about-national-signing-day-rankings/ http://www.sportscolumn.com/2010/02/04/2nd-annual-all-you-need-to-know-about-national-signing-day-rankings/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:08:24 +0000 bsd987 http://www.sportscolumn.com/2010/02/04/2nd-annual-all-you-need-to-know-about-national-signing-day-rankings/
Here’s the Second Annual “All You Need to Know About National Signing Day” recruiting analysis. I have rated the 25 best-named recruits in the country plus the five classes with the coolest names. While there were no Shavodrick Beavers this year to pick from, there were a lot of solid names, some of which sadly missed [...]]]>

Here’s the Second Annual “All You Need to Know About National Signing Day” recruiting analysis. I have rated the 25 best-named recruits in the country plus the five classes with the coolest names.

While there were no Shavodrick Beavers this year to pick from, there were a lot of solid names, some of which sadly missed the cut (Gifford Timothy, Fidel Montgomery, and Matt Pelesasa to name a few).

Anyway, here are the 25 coolest names for the College Football Class of 2014:

25. Forrest Hightower – San Jose State
24. Rowdy Harper – Houston
23. Jackson Kaka – New Mexico State
22. Johnathan Ragoo – Minnesota
21. Dwellie Striggles – Buffalo
20. King Holder – San Diego State
19. Kalafitoni Pole – Washington State
18. Chi Chi Ariguzo – Northwestern
17. Furious Bradley – Southern Miss
16. Munchie Legaux – Cincinnati
15. B.J. Chitty – Troy
14. Matangi Tonga – Houston
13. Deveon Dinwiddle – Kansas State
12. Storm Johnson – Miami (Fla.)
11. Happy Iona – Oregon State
10. Ace Sanders – South Carolina
9. Carrington Byndom – Texas
8. Braxton Deaver – Duke
7. Sharrod Golightly – South Carolina
6. Mike Bizzarro – Akron
5. Jaqwaylin Arps – Kansas
4. Tank Sessions – Florida State
3. Jose Jose – UCF
2. Mister Jones – Texas A&M
1. Wave Ryder – Utah State

And now, here are the top six celebrity cameos in college football:

6. Tyler Perry – Oregon State
5. Tyson Chandler – N.C. State
4. Ed Sullivan – Marshall
3. Quartney Cox – UAB
2. James Polk – Texas Tech
1. Mack Brown – Florida

Moving on, I also have my Juniors and Brothers of the Year:

Tebucky Jones, Jr. – Connecticut
Steve McNair, Jr. – Southern Miss
Alec Ogletree – Georgia
Alexander Ogletree – Georgia

And without further ado, here are the top five recruiting classes of 2010:

5. Florida State – Dan Foose, Holmes Onwukaife, Tank Sessions, Debrale Smiley, Nigel Terrell, Clint Trickett
4. Duke – Brandon Braxton, Takoby Cofield, Braxton Deaver, Clerance France, Cooper Helfet, Nick Sink, Quantrez Stevenson, Laken Tomlinson
3. Tennessee – Raiques Crump, Channing Fugate, Martaze Jackson, Eddrick Loften, Nash Nance, Rajion Neal, Marques Pair, Michael Palardy, Da’Rick Rogers, Dontavis Sapp
2. UCF – Woodley Cadet, Davious Chestnut, Clayton Geathers, Tony Jacob, Jose Jose, Perry Meiklejohn, Jordan Ozerities, Justin Tukes, Cornelius Whitehead
1. South Carolina – Toquavius Gilchrist, Sharrod Golightly, Byron Jerideau, Marcus Lattimore, Du’Von Millsap, Kelcy Quarles, Ace Sanders, Cadarious Sanders

If you are a hardcore football fan, Super Bowl Sunday creates a dilemma: do you watch the game per your usual routine (either alone or with a small group of knowledgeable football fans) or do you join the hoi polloi for a Super Bowl Party?

If your team is playing in the Super Bowl, you must maintain your usual routine. There’s no excuse for breaking it now. If your team loses, it’s most likely your fault. This is not the time to be messing around with parties and not wearing your lucky underwear. The Lombardi is at stake.

For the rest of you, if you make the decision to host or attend a Super Bowl party, here are the rules you must adhere to. If you’re attending a party, print out this column for the host and other guests and let me be the jerk in your stead.

Your place needs to be conducive to throwing a party. That means if you don’t have a big screen HDTV (it’s 2010), you shouldn’t be the one throwing the party. If your space isn’t big enough for the number of people you’re inviting, you shouldn’t be the one throwing a party. And if you can’t have a lot of people making a lot of noise for 4-6 hours, then you shouldn’t be the one throwing the party. It also helps tremendously if you have multiple rooms for those who aren’t actually there for football. (But more on that later.)

Plentiful (and timely) Food and Booze. A good host always has plenty of food for the Super Bowl. A great host knows that most of the food goes cold by halftime and plans accordingly. It’s such a simple concept and yet I can guarantee half the parties next weekend will be reduced to cold congealed greasy nachos and wings by the time the Who amble off the stage. Not the cooking type? Then just make sure your ribs, nachos, wings, etc (brought by your guests of course) are ready at kickoff. Then order some pizzas. They’ll arrive just in time for the second half.

Your job as a host is also to make sure anyone who isn’t driving always has a cold beer in his hand. The quality of the beer is at the discretion of the host. The duty of the attendees is to make sure they bring enough beer so that the host never runs out. Use the double-up rule. If you plan on drinking 3 beers, bring at least a six pack. If you plan on drinking 6 beers, bring 12. If you plan on drinking 12 beers, AA meets once a week. The double-up rule ensures that the host’s stash isn’t too depleted by deadbeats who don’t bring alcohol or food. No host in the history of party-throwing has ever complained about having too much leftover beer in the house.

Keep the kids away from the TV. At some point in our lives, kids started popping up at every social event. If you know that there will be kids attending the party, make sure they are not allowed near the TV. Gate ‘em up, wall ‘em off, duct tape them to the wall. Doesn’t matter. No matter how cute you think your kid is in his Tony Romo jersey, his endless blathering is not appreciated by anyone but you. So put the kids in another room, beg, borrow, or steal six hours worth of Disney Pixar movies and tell them never to come out of that room or a cute puppy/bunny/kitten/whatever will be shot in the head. Borrow animal if you have to for effect. (Any kid old enough to like football and watch it intently is exempt from this rule. )

Keep the knitting circle away from the TV. Almost as annoying as screaming kids is what I call the knitting circle: men and women who are only there because they get to leave the house for once. While the Super Bowl party is for socializing, it’s primarily for football. So here are your rules:

• understand that you are in the knitting circle and act accordingly.
• do not take up prime seating.
• do not ask stupid questions about football during plays.
• do not root for/against a team unless you have a particular reason. Don’t be the guy/girl who wants to “stir it up”. If someone at the party is actually a fan of one of the teams, your “playful banter” or “playin” might get you a kick in the head.
• do not pretend to know more about football than you actually do. (This rule applies especially to men.) We can appreciate that not everyone knows football or even likes it, but don’t be a huge phony.
• do not discuss non-football related topics in the main TV room — go do that in the kitchen. Your one exception is during commercials. Feel free to comment as much as you want. First, nobody cares. Second, hardcore fans have made this concession and realize that the commercials are a part of the Super Bowl.

People who should not attend the party at all

• “The Hater” : Let’s say you are a fan of the Falcons. Do not go to a Saints party just to root against them. Yes, your loyalties are understandable. But don’t be that dick who is there just to root against everyone else. I speak from experience. Someone invited a Dallas Cowboys fan to an Eagles Super Bowl Party. He spent the whole night rooting against the Eagles. Not for the Patriots, just against the Eagles. There’s nothing wrong with rooting for your team, but if your team isn’t in the Super Bowl, don’t be a dick.
• “The Ironic Football Fan”: These are the guys/gals who are too cool and intellectual to watch football. Who think it’s absurd that professional athletes get paid more than teachers for playing a game. Who think that in order to love football, you must be some sort of neanderthal. Yes, we get it, you are intellectually superior. So why are you at this party cheering ironically during the game? Do everyone a favor and go home.
• “The Sleeve Tugger”: The significant other who isn’t interested in the game at all and will spend the entire game trying to get the person who is actually enjoying the game to leave.
• “Over-The-Top Super Fan”: If you know you’re too hardcore to go to a party and watch the game like a civilized person, just stay home. Nobody needs the temper-tantrum guy to ruin a fun time. You know the game is more important than talking to people. Stay home, watch the game, break your own stuff.

You don’t have to go home but you have to get the hell out of here. This is the most important rule of all. Once the clock hits 0:00 and the confetti starts raining down, you have 10 minutes to leave. Unless the host has specifically asked you to stay for whatever shenanigans, you need to say your goodbyes, pick up your crap and get the hell out.

That’s it folks. Some simple rules for making sure that the focus for the Super Bowl party is on the Super Bowl.