Good Intent, Bad Execution

Instant replay was always going to become more important in sports.  High definition TV allows you to count Suzy Kolber’s dead ends and to see the white stuff at the corner of Keith Olberman’s mouth.  We live in a technological world where the best seat in the house really is your couch.  You see everything clearer on TV and you don’t need to worry about driving home.  And, as usual, what drives consumer preferences will also drive the adjustment of businesses.  In the NFL, the referees see every view of a play as provided by commercial TV stations.  The professional sports leagues can no longer look their fans square in the face and plead the honest mistake…HD replay can expose poor officiating and, by association, bad business.

Baseball is the most American of all major sports.  Not only did it originate in the U.S., but the game drew the unswerving fascination of this country from about 1900 to 1985.  No other sport held the minds of its viewers like baseball.  The detailed stats that we still keep from the pre-Ruth days shows just how much baseball could accurately be called an American pastime.  We’re used to baseball’s eccentricities, the spitting, chewing, and ridiculous signs (I mean seriously, you’re telling me every time the manager scratches his pit it means “hit and run”?).  But one irregularity that always irks fans is a missed call.  And baseball has seen its fair share of those over the years but, regrettably for baseball purists, the 2013 season has been rife with poor decision-making by Blue.  The umpires picked the worst time to step off the reservation and, for the first true time, their job security might not be as high as it once was.

I certainly will never advocate for a computers-only system, but something needed to change.  Baseball acted to take care of the situation, but in doing so they may have gone too far.  I have used this space before to suggest a manager’s challenge as a convenient way to maintain the human element of the umpires while also allowing some relief for a blown call.  MLB, subject to a further vote by owners and players, took that a good deal further. If the proposed rules come into effect, a manager would have one challenge per game through the sixth inning, and then two per game from the seventh to the end of the game.  All challenges would be reviewed by the Eye in the Sky at MLB HQ in New York.  Life in the NFL, if you win a challenge, you retain it.

Not a bad system, but part of the strategy for the manager should be whether to use a limited number of challenges.  I know MLB wants to give plenty of relief for when the game comes to the wire, but if a manager had only one challenge over an entire game that would go much further in maintaining some of the baseball tradition.  Yes, calls would still get missed, but that way managers can no longer whine about not having anything concrete in arguing calls.

One likely consequence will be the lessening of manager tantrums on the field.  The typical major league manager will only have balls and strikes to argue.  Most other plays would theoretically be challengeable.  That’s too bad in my book, as half of my YouTube views on baseball involve tantrums somewhere.  But the new rules give a little too much to managers, and while calls will be corrected without issue, MLB should maintain some strategy for teams coming into games.  I applaud baseball for taking action, but in this case, I think they did too much.

Bit #1: Women’s Golf

I know, it rarely if ever hits your radar screen that women play golf on a professional tour.  Many of my erstwhile readers either dislike golf or barely recognize its existence.  But, this weekend, the LPGA Tour will stage its version of the Ryder Cup.

The Solheim Cup is a fairly recent institution, dating back only to 1990.  In comparison with the men’s Ryder Cup, the event creates a very small amount of enthusiasm.  That seemed to change into the 2000s as Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam hit her stride.  But now, the event feels largely devoid of suspense.  The teams bring some talent with them to Colorado, but only four of the world’s top ten will be represented.  Compare that to last year’s Ryder Cup which featured nine of the world’s top ten.  The European Solheim Cup team will be starting a rookie ranked 147 in the world.  That’s not good, by any means.

I admit the Solheim won’t be must-see, but every time golf transitions to a team game the strategy becomes much more interesting.  I know too little about the game of women’s golf to offer any kind of educated guess, but the U.S. did fall flat on Sunday two years ago.  Maybe they overcome that memory?

Bit #2: Signing the Future Away?

Johnny Manziel is a Heisman winner, an accomplished football star, and some kind of stupid.  I want to feel sorry for Manziel.  I cannot imagine how a guy can cope at age 20 with all the media attention Manziel receives in a given day.  He found success early and now must come to grips with that notoriety.  He’s had a difficult summer, full of ill-advised Tweets and, if stories are to be believed, too much drinking with the Mannings.  But how can we feel bad for a kid who continually makes these mistakes?  Sure, he’s 20, but after a few missteps, one would think he’d learn his lesson.

Apparently not.  This past week, stories broke about Manziel being paid to sign memorabilia.  Gradually, the initial story escalated as an unnamed broker claimed to have paid Manziel for six separate sessions.  Should the NCAA deem this to be true, Manziel could be declared ineligible.  Thankfully for A&M, all alleged actions took place after last season, meaning that the program will not experience any penalties as of right now.  But, should they decide to play him this season, a guilty verdict by the NCAA will bring the school into the doghouse.

If you ask me, A&M should probably sit Manziel for the first two games.  They can point to a meaningful “suspension” while conducting their own internal investigation.  The NCAA will not publish a finding for a while so a successful A&M season likely brings in money and recruits at the expense of losing a few scholarships later.  But, the real stupidity here rests with Manziel.  After the Ohio State scandal two years ago that cost coach Jim Tressel and QB Terrelle Pryor their jobs, if Manziel agreed to compensation than he either hasn’t listened to anyone in College Station authority or has misplaced his priorities.  That’s harsh, but not the smartest move by Manziel by any means.

Bit #3: Retiring too Early

I don’t expect many to follow or know much about tennis these days.  The men’s game has three titans and the women’s side rarely brings forth anyone but Serena Williams.  And when it does, usually there is little consistency.

But Marion Bartoli has been there.  She’s fought hard for many years, finally breaking through at Wimbledon this year.  She’s ranked 7^th in the world and is only 28 years old.  She’s won eight singles titles.  And she retired on Wednesday, citing recurring injuries.  She’s had knee, ankle, leg, and shoulder problems in her career, but has also played in every Grand Slam since the 2002 U.S. Open.  That’s ridiculously impressive for someone who struggled for as long as she did chasing the Big Win.  Not to mention, she has a two-handed forehand, an aberration so intriguing you have to wonder why you don’t watch tennis more.  Ok, maybe not, but it’s still pretty cool.  Anyway, she’s retired way too early.