Sunday, October 19, 2014

B1G

This is our fourth year as Maryland Football season ticket holders.  It took us nine years of going to Byrd sporadically before we were willing to make the commitment.  Then, for the first three years, we barely used the tickets, nor would we try to even give them away when were not using the seats.

No matter how entertaining a game was on the field -- last season's win against Virginia and the Monday night season opener against Miami in 2011 stand out -- sitting in the stands has been a miserable experience.  Our eldest thinks fights between drunken men is a routine part of a football game.  We regularly get to games late and leave early because of the obnoxious behavior of a vocal minority of idiots.

As much as we have come to love the team, the players, and the coaching staff, dealing with other fans made going to games with the entire family a non-starter.

Until this year.

Whatever else may happen with the move from the ACC to the Big Ten, the change in culture in the stadium has been a total unexpected surprise. 

There was nothing to indicate any major shift from the season-opener against James Madison.  We sit field level, 50-yard line, visitor's side and, as usual, there were minor skirmishes and major obscenity laced tirades between fans.  Certainly nothing from the West Virginia game seemed any different from the norm.

The surrounding rows in our section for the Ohio State game was about two-thirds Buckeyes and one-third Terrapins.    I can't remember ever enjoying a football game more, even with Maryland being drubbed.  Fans were pleasant and conversational.  More than anything they were reverent.

I left the stadium beaming.  It is a privilege to be able to watch elite college football.  The Ohio State partisans have no qualms about openly recognizing this.

Same thing this Saturday.  Huge number of Iowa fans descend on College Park.  No tension in the stands.  Free and easy.  There's a game.  There's fantastic athletes.  They're about to engage in an epic contest of strategy and skill.  And we're here, allowed to see it up close. 

There's a long shot of the visitor's side when Stefon Diggs takes off for his long touchdown.  Fans in both black and gold and red and black on their feet.  He gone.  No "You suck" chant.  No fingers wagging at the visiting fans.  Just joy on some faces, dismay on others.  Football at its very best.

Maybe the Rutgers game to close the season won't be like this, but I expect the Michigan State game will.  And that's B1G. 

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Just the Bestest

Hey, Minnesota Vikings... why did you hire Littler Mendelson to write a hit job masquerading as a summary of the RKMC investigation?:
When the investigation was complete, in order to further maintain objectivity and integrity, the Vikings engaged a nationally-prominent law firm in employment matters and one of the top-ranked and recognized firms for diversity, Littler Mendelson P.C. and partner Donald Prophete, to independently review and assess the findings and provide a report to the Vikings from an employment law perspective.
Maintain "objectivity and integrity"!  How do you know that the anti-labor law firm will be objective and demonstrate integrity? Littler Mendelson is recognized for its "diversity"!

Isn't the point the Vikings are making here that because the organization hired a professional firm that prominently features minorities they are insulated from charges of being biased or discriminatory?  If so, is the fact that they pay minority attorneys the equivalent of a secular indulgence, allowing the rich and powerful to behave poorly towards the marginalized?


Probably not, as the Sterling/Snyder playbook requires not only hiring minority professionals as your hit men, but the purchase of real indulgences from secular dispensationalists:
In addition, as a continued effort to support human rights and anti-hate causes, the Vikings will make a total donation of $100,000 to LGBT rights charitable and educational organizations.
Never mind then.

The behavior and response of the Vikings organization, as set out on their own website, is profoundly depressing.  How you feel about Chris Kluwe's conduct is really immaterial to the Vikings behavior.  Ownership of an NFL team (or an NBA team, or a MLB team, or a MLS team, or a NHL team) is not license to be an a**hole.  And, yet, there are a number of professionals -- in the legal and public relations fields -- that signed off on this idiocy.

With the Redskins, that organization's awfulness is obvious to everyone.  A trivial test for where we are in terms of sports culture is how people respond to this gambit.

Littler Mendelson, Zygi Wilf, and You're Not Even Trying That Hard

The Minnesota Vikings released a summary report from the independent investigation of former special teamer Chris Kluwe's allegations regarding misconduct by one of the team's coaches.

While the independent party conducting the investigation was the law firm of Robins Kaplan Miller and Ciresi (RKMC), the summary report was drafted by a different law firm, that of Littler Mendelson.

At this point in its existence, how is it possible that Littler Mendelson can be peddled to anyone in the media or elsewhere as a neutral, objective presenter of facts?  The firm and its lawyers have made their mark in the American legal market by aggressively promoting the interests of management over labor.

There's nothing wrong with that, particularly if you're an attorney that enjoys monetary compensation and power.  But it is quite a stretch to pretend that such a firm is likely to produce anything that approximates an objective analysis of facts in an employment dispute.

The Minnesota Vikings have not released the results of RKMC's (with the help of Waypoint Inc.) investigation.  Instead, the organization had Littler Mendelson write up a summary of the findings of another law firm.  From the Littler memo:
You have asked us to review RKMC’s investigative materials that you provided and to provide you with an assessment of the investigation’s findings from an employment law perspective, to help the Vikings decide how to address Kluwe’s claims fairly and in accordance with the law and team policies. You have directed us to be non-partisan in our assessment of the evidence uncovered by the Investigators.
What?  Do the Vikings expect to get away with releasing this "review" without actually providing access to the materials that Littler reviewed?  

They shouldn't.  Particularly when the memorandum concludes as follows:
In sum, our review of RKMC’s investigative materials you provided fails to establish that Kluwe’s activism in support of marriage equality and other equal rights motivated his release from the team in May of 2013.

We also did not find sufficient evidence to establish that members of the Vikings organization attempted to discourage Kluwe from engaging in marriage equality or equal rights activism or that the Vikings harbored a homophobic hostile work environment. The record does, however, support the conclusion that the distractions caused by the level, but not the nature, of Kluwe’s activism did create some discomfort in the organization during the 2012 season in which Kluwe’s punting performance was unsatisfactory to the team. The investigation materials support that the Vikings released Kluwe for football performance reasons and not his views on marriage equality.
Sure, ok.  Whatever you say.

Then there is the actual name on the memo from Littler, this guy.  Again, this guy.  THIS GUY:
OGLETREE DEAKINS — STATEMENT FROM KIM EBERT

Don Prophete’s letter constitutes an attack on our firm by someone whose larger motives are incomprehensible to us. Two indisputable facts provide critical context: the shareholders of the firm voted overwhelmingly for him to leave, and he never made any allegations of harassment, discrimination, or retaliation prior to his departure. Further, when we learned of his after-the-fact allegations (upon receiving a copy of the email he sent to others, not the firm), a full investigation was conducted and his allegations could not be substantiated.

The fact is that all of this occurred well more than a month ago, and we have moved on. Just six shareholders have chosen to follow Prophete to his next firm, and those that worked with him the longest have chosen to stay with our firm. His departure will have a minimal effect on our firm, its continued success, and its commitment to providing outstanding service to our clients.  In the final analysis, this unfortunate story should not deceive anyone as to the culture of our firm. In fact, our culture has and will remain famously collegial and supportive of diversity at all levels. The numbers speak eloquently: Ogletree Deakins hires a great number of laterals while losing very few shareholders to other firms. We are proud of our reputation for diversity and fairness, which reinforces our sense of ourselves, and our pride in the integrity and humanity of our firm.
Mr. Prophete's done well for himself since leaving Ogletree Deakins.  He got lead billing on Littler's amicus brief on behalf of the NCAA to the National Labor Relations Board opposing the College Athletes Players Association's efforts to form a union for Northwestern University's football team.  (The amicus brief, which is well written, predicts doom to universities should collective bargaining rights for collegiate athletes be recognized and includes this fun image of the apocalypse:  "Seats formerly occupied by students with school colors painted on their faces will be empty.").

Notably Littler Mendelson's summary memo reports that there were several NFL teams that declined to participate in RKMC's investigation.  From the Littler Mendelson memo:
Investigators contacted the Oakland Raiders, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, and Cincinnati Bengals to ask for interviews regarding their evaluation of Kluwe as a potential punter. No one affiliated with these teams agreed to an interview.
Unfortunately, one person who elected to participate was Jerry Angelo.  And, for whatever reason, Mr. Angelo seems to have enthusiastically adopted the position of Vikings management lackey.  Again, from the Littler Mendelson memo:
Angelo said that, if he had held the title of General Manager of the Minnesota Vikings for the 2012 season, he would have “in all likelihood” released Chris Kluwe as the Vikings’ punter. He explained that his experience has shown him that “once players get into the later years of their career, they are more prone to decline and inflexible to change.” Angelo said that the Vikings’ impending move to TCF Bank Stadium, with a minimum of 11 outdoor games, would have made his decision even easier because Kluwe would not likely be able to maintain his performance outdoors.

Angelo said that, in his professional opinion, a team would be justified in releasing Kluwe if the team did not like (1) Kluwe’s style; (2) where he was in his career given his age; or (3) Kluwe’s veteran salary. Angelo thought it was reasonable for the Vikings to release Kluwe after his 2012 season given Kluwe’s age and the presumption that his leg strength would diminish as he got older. Angelo said this was especially true in light of the fact that the team would soon be playing in an open-air stadium for two seasons. Angelo noted that a punter’s hang time and distance are the most important criteria when playing outdoors.
Leaving to one side whether any of Mr. Angelo's claims are true, the decision to participate in something structured by the Minnesota Vikings organization reflects lamentable judgment.

As to the Vikings, you all just keep being you.  Free Adrian Peterson!

Sunday, July 6, 2014

There's Nothing Wrong with the American System

In the wake of the United States performance in Brazil -- which was fantastic -- it is now time for folks to weigh in on how this country will never produce elite soccer talent because of how the sport is organized.  One example, the Guardian's Liviu Bird contends that the whole system must be blown up here.

One of the more interesting aspects of Bird's piece is that it does not cite the British system as an example of something U.S. soccer should emulate.  Instead, Bird points to Belgium, a country with a population slightly more than half that of the state of New York and roughly one-fifth the population of England.

I've got no particular expertise in this area, but it strikes me that there is much to be learned from the British system in terms of why the incredible developmental academies and scouting networks in that country have not resulted in a talent pipeline equal to its continental and South American rivals.  We have sponsored a number of youth players in football sides throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.  It is not as if talent is automatically harnessed and nurtured in those structures.

Instead, up and out programs underscore intense competition at early stages.  While youth players with top clubs may have additional opportunities with lower tier clubs if they don't catch on with the mother ship, kids on other clubs face a bleak future if they don't stick.

Talent evaluation and identification is tricky.  Tell someone in December of 2008 that Omar Gonzalez would be a key part of the U.S. Men's National Team in Brazil and, if they followed college soccer, you wouldn't get much in the way of argument.  Tell them that another member of that team would prominently feature for the USMNT in 2014 and it would probably take a while before they guessed Zusi.  The team that played in the College Cup in 2008 had Jason Herrick and Casey Townsend up front.  Zac MacMath was in goal and the backline was, along with Omar, A.J. Delagarza, Rich Costanzo, and Rodney Wallace.  Graham Zusi played with Jeremy Hall and Matt Kassel in the midfield.

In the 2009 MLS Superdraft, Omar went third, Wallace went sixth, Hall went eleventh, and Delagarza was selected nineteenth.  Zusi was the twenty-third pick in that draft.

Zusi was still heralded enough to be recruited by the best college programs in the country and drafted by MLS teams.  The U.S. national pool player that I have become most fond of did not make the trip to Brazil but provides one of the better cautionary tales to those who are advocating for a stronger command and control system of youth development.

Joe Corona went to the same high school, Sweetwater High School, as many of my cousins.  He was part of San Diego's Nomads Academy ("for those serious about soccer"), where Eric Avila, Steve Cherundolo, Frankie Hejduk, Eric Wynalda, and Marcello Balboa also played.  But Corona's pedigree translated into a year at San Diego State University before deciding that the way to go was the Xolos youth setup.

How does that happen? 

The four countries left in the World Cup have populations of 201 million (Brazil), 81 million (Germany), 42 million (Argentina), and 17 million (Netherlands).  All together, that's a bit more than the population of this country (340 vs. 318 million).  Population isn't destiny -- India's 1.2 billion people and China's 1.3 billion isn't going to translate into soccer powerhouses any time on the horizon.  But the USA is a soccer nation.  And the thought that US Soccer and MLS academies are going to effectively identify and develop talent throughout the country is ludicrous.

What American soccer needs more than anything else is MORE.  More soccer.  Better collegiate soccer, with stronger programs and a bigger presence on campuses across the nation.  Better lower division soccer teams, meaning serious and sustained efforts to make the NASL work and mitigation of the damage done by corpses of USL franchises racking up debt and pissing away fan interest.  Better developed pipelines into Mexican, Central and South American, and Scandinavian football clubs for U.S. youth players.  More soccer, disaggregated, beautifully disorganized.  MLS constantly under fire. 

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The Value of a College Education

One of the most remarkable facets of the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team that headed down to Brazil is the diversity of the squad.  When Alejandro Bedoya gets a pass across the box to a streaking Fabian Johnson, who controls and centers for an easy tap in to Jozy Altidore, there are a heck of a lot of loose threads being tied together.

This squad reflects a lot of what I love about the country.  But more than just the superficial diversity of different ethnic and geographical roots, there is another important aspect of American diversity that is exemplified by the team.  And that would be the many, many, many different vehicles available to exceptionally talented individuals to harness their talents.

Four members of the USMNT squad were part of the IMG Academy:  Jozy Altidore; Kyle Beckerman; DaMarcus Beasley; and Michael Bradley.

Another eight members of the squad honed their games in the academies and youth squads of professional clubs.  Five of those nine did so in Germany:  Jermaine Jones and Timothy Chandler were part of Eintracht Frankfurt; John Brooks came up with Hertha BSC; Julian Green with Bayern Munich; and Fabian Johnson with TSV 1860 Munchen.  Aaron Johannsson came up with Fjolnir in Reykjavik;  Mikkel Diskerud in the Oslo suburbs with Stabaek; and Tim Howard with the MLS's MetroStars (Red Bulls).

But nearly half of the roster played D-I collegiate soccer.  Some of those eleven were part of elite college soccer programs -- Omar Gonzalez spent 3 years and Graham Zusi spent 4 years at the University of Maryland; DeAndre Yedlin was a student at the University of Akron for 2 years; Matt Besler was enrolled at Notre Dame University for 4 years; Nick Rimando was at UCLA for 2 years; Brad Davis was at St. Louis University for 2 years; and Brad Guzan spent 2 years at the University of South Carolina.  The remaining four, however, went to schools that were far less heralded for their soccer programs.  Before Alejandro Bedoya went to Boston College for his junior and senior seasons, he played 2 years at Farleigh Dickinson.  Geoff Cameron left West Virginia University after 2 years to finish his college career at the University of Rhode Island.  Chris Wondolowski attended Chico State University for 4 years.  And the team's captain went to Furman University for 3 years.

One of the new goals of U.S. soccer is to streamline the process for identifying and developing youth talent through academy programs.  But talent identification in a country as large and diverse as the United States is not terribly accurate or efficient.  What would the U.S. look like had Tim Mulqueen not run across a young Tim Howard during a soccer camp?  Would Howard have been given the same shot with the MetroStars but for that connection?  How is it that Deuce and Wondo spent so many years at Furman and Chico State, respectively?

Collegiate soccer is not an ideal way to develop world class players.  But it remains a useful tool in the toolkit and ignoring the opportunities offered through partnerships with college programs would not be in the best interests of U.S. soccer.




Monday, April 28, 2014

We are witness

Through four playoff games, the Captain has averaged 32 minutes a game, while shooting .378 from the floor and .214 beyond the arc.  Kirk has averaged 9.8 points, 4.5 assists, 2.3 turnovers, 1 steal, four personal fouls, and 3.3 rebounds a game.  He has shot a grand total of four free throws in those four games, missing two of those four (resulting in a loss in game two).

Again, Hinrich has averaged 32 minutes a game in this series.

32 minutes.

Jimmer Fredette, in contrast, has played 0 minutes.

Ronnie Brewer has played 0 minutes.

Mike James has played 0 minutes.

Just a lot of the Captain.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Give it a rest...

I believe strongly in the concept of amateurism in college athletics.  I justify my support of college athletics at the University of Maryland with reference to the educational opportunities afforded to students.  The value of such an opportunity is underscored by the college search that we are engaged in right now with a family friend -- most schools are simply not affordable to Americans from low-income backgrounds.  For an elite few, athletic scholarships are an equalizer.

But, man, the NCAA makes it really, really hard to defend the status quo.

Here's Pat Fitzgerald, coach of Northwestern University's football team, in his discussion with the media explaining his opposition to his players organizing into a labor union:
"It's been tough for me to be silent," Fitzgerald said. "I believe it's in their best interests to vote no. I'm a teacher, I'm a coach, I'm an educator. There's no laws against that."
I went to an elite liberal arts college in the Midwest.  According to the school's Form 990 filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the highest salaried professor at the school makes less than $300k a year.  No administrator at the college makes more than $600k.  At Carleton College, a peer institution, no administrator or professor made more than $500k.  At Haverford College, no employee made more than $600k.  At tony Wellesley College and Vassar College, no employee made more than $700k, while the highest paid employee at Swarthmore College earned a total package of just over $700k.

For the 2011-2012 academic year, the teacher Pat Fitzgerald received a base salary of $1.97 million and a total compensation package of $2.22 million.  (Northwestern finished the 2011 regular season with a 6 and 6 record and lost the Meineke Car Care Bowl to Texas A & M).

The educator Pat Fitzgerald made more in total compensation than Patrick M. McCarthy, the Director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and Chief of the division of Surgery-Cardiac Surgery at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of medicine.

That's stupid.

But not as stupid as Mark Emmert's (President of the NCAA) $1.42 million base salary the same academic year (total compensation package $1.67 million) or the nearly $1 million James Isch (Chief Operating Officer of the NCAA) made in total compensation that year. 

Again, the highest paid professor at my alma mater makes less than $300k.  During the 2011-2012 academic year, there were fifteen (15) employees at the NCAA that made more than that.  Fifteen!   

So, if you are telling me that allowing students to organize into a labor union poses a threat to college athletics as we know it, I'm ok with that.  Because ultimately, Jeff Samardzija is right, if you're making this much money off the backs of non-compensated student athletes, "it would be nice to see if they did a little bit more to try and help these guys out in the long run."

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Sequoia, You Are Magic

On Sunday, fans of Maryland's Women's basketball program were invited to celebrate a remarkably accomplished senior class, culminating in Alyssa Thomas's number being raised to the rafters after a blowout win marking the end to ACC regular-season play (now and forever). 

Back during the 2010-2011 season, we took our eldest daughter, then two years old, often to Comcast.  These trips triggered a new, deeper appreciation of the program while we watched Alicia DeVaughn, Alyssa Thomas, and Sequoia Austin build a new identity for the team.  With Essence already enrolled a year prior and the transfer of Katie Rutan into the mix, the school had a core group of incredibly charismatic upperclassmen going into this season.

That dynamic shown through in the game against Virginia Tech.  And while we are marking the end of the collegiate careers of one of the best players to ever don a Terrapin jersey, in this household we're celebrating the tenure of our favorite Maryland student-athlete ever -- Sequoia Austin.

Sequoia has always been the player that our two girls most want to see at team events.  Sequoia's smile at the annual mini-golf games and autograph sessions has been electric, it is contagious.  Positivity Monday was a misnomer insofar as it has been positivity pretty much every minute of every hour of every day.

Prior to player introductions on Sunday, AwesumPawsum brought down the house by leading the cheerleading squad's routine (this happened:  http://instagram.com/p/lGPuR6IYjK/#).  Sequoia then went back to the bench and, along with Essence Townsend, was announced with the starting lineup for the first time this season.  Essence and Sequoia played the first five minutes and then played several minutes towards the close of the second half.  It was awesome.

I often doubt that the selfless acts of a pure heart can rise above cynicism and world weariness, but there it is (or was):  people chanting Sequioa's name, dancing with her, delighting when she jumped with joy into Alyssa Thomas's arms after the ceremony. 

Our section was packed to the gills with young girls.  A couple of rows behind us, towards the end of the games, a group of them talked about the prospect of meeting Alyssa after the game.  There was disbelief and excitement, questions as to whether it was, in fact, true.  Yup.  It is.  Alyssa Thomas.  Wow.  And then the question:  "Are we going to meet Sequoia too?"  Followed by echoes of "Can we?" 

This is something both my daughters agree with whole-heartedly.  All of the players are great.  Sequoia Austin, a former walk-on, is something else.  She is magic.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Afternoon Out

Me to five-year old:  "The women's basketball team is playing today at 2.  Do you want to go?"

Five-year old:  "Yes.  Yes, I want to go."

Me to wife:  Ok, so I'll take our oldest to the game and the youngest will stay here with you?

Two-year old:  "I want to go.  I want to go to basketball too."

There hasn't been a lot of opportunities for me to take both our girls out of the house and give my spouse an extended respite from the children.  Trips to the playground don't last terribly long before the youngest begins to miss her mom.  And activities requiring a greater time commitment risk full-fledged meltdowns with little prospect of enjoyment.

But there is the University of Maryland's Women's College Basketball team, offering over two hours of distraction without once netting a plea to return home.

We are very fortunate to be so close to an elite women's basketball program, particularly one that has done remarkably well at embracing its identity.  Students may not show up to games with any regularity.  Kids do and are welcomed.  The line for Rita's was ridiculously long this afternoon.

With all the kids and all the activities, there is no issue about staying to the final whistle.  And hanging out for the conclusion of a fifty-point blowout was rewarded first by an Essence Townsend basket and then, moments later, a field goal from Sequoia Austin.