Sports Sense

Sammy Sosa, the man who until now has only had to fight steroid rumors, has a completely new look.

And I am startled by what I see. I’m not feeling Sammy Sosa as Michael Jackson’s little brother.

Sammy’s new skin tone is shocking and creepy. And I’m being nice. It’s a lot easier to deal with white people tanning themselves brown than to see a black man bleach himself white.

I feel like there is something really wrong with this. I am a dark-skinned black man. Proudly so, Today. I would like to say I have never wondered what it would be like to be lighter. But that would be a lie. I have lived the contradictions that many of us African-Americans deal with about skin color but often chose not to think about. Still its hard to forget the indignities.

Like –

Getting a whipping because I called my cousin “black”.

Being teased because of my dark skin – by several other black boys in junior high. Most of what I remember about seventh grade is that I hated how dark I was. I had never realized that dark was considered “bad” until that year.

This is a complicated subject for many black people. We have long been hung up on skin color. We used to call it “color-struck”. These days we try to say it is not a problem – until some black man, like Sammy Sosa or Michael Jackson decides to lighten his skin. But the fact is, lightening one’s skin color is something black people used to do all the time. The skin-bleaching companies made a lot of money from Negroes years ago.

Despite everything, particularly the self-hatred, we have learned to just adapt. Somehow, I guess, I got over the fact that Michael Jackson became a white guy who had white kids. I now kind of think of him as two guys. The young black kid and the old white weirdo.

But his dying so suddenly has sort of allowed me to forgive him for all of his weirdness. Because light or dark his talent was phenomenal.

Which brings me back to Sammy Sosa, who now looks virtually unrecognizable in his newly-lightened skin.

For his part Sammy is saying that a rejuvenation process has changed his skin color. I’ll just be watching to see if he gets dark again.

For now this feels a lot worse to me than wondering whether Sammy did steroids.

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DavidBurnett Major League Baseball, Race lightened skin color, new look, Sammy Sosa, skin color

The other day Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban suggested that some sports need to embrace a clinical approach to the use of steroids.

But even as he made that statement Cuban predicted that he would be widely criticized for his belief that athletes should be allowed to use steroids under a doctors care as a way to recover from injuries.

But I won’t be one of the naysayers. I believe he’s right on this.

I applaud Cuban for having the courage to raise this subject publicly and without apology. I hope this begins a responsible, rather than hysterical, dialogue about all kinds of recuperative drugs including steroids. The reality is that these drugs are not always used for performance enhancement.

In the real world we have real people using steroids, human growth hormone and other specialized drugs under a doctors care all the time. These drugs are beneficial in “enhancing” the lives of the people who need them. So shouldn’t athletes have the same options that are available to everyone else.

Of course I am not saying these drugs should be abused. But what is wrong with using them to regenerate tired and sometimes torn bodies so that the athlete can compete again.

Of course all athletes are looking for an “edge” to help them win. But seeking an edge doesn’t always mean cheating. The reality is that while most successful players are driven to be better than their opponents and to win, they also are quite aware that in order to play and to beat the opposition they must be able to quickly recover from injuries.

Just as importantly its not unreasonable for them to want a comfortable and relatively pain-free life in retirement too. Which is why some athletes ought to be allowed to use certain drugs to not just extend their careers but extend their lives.

But the misinformed clamor about performance enhancing drugs, particularly in Major League Baseball has distorted and warped a discussion that all of us should welcome.

The best example might be pro football. NFL football is arguably the most brutal contact sport in the world. The physical toll on NFL players cannot remotely be measured. Some of the injuries incurred by players last a lifetime or cause their deaths.

So why shouldn’t a football player or any other athlete have a pharmaceutical means to manage the pain he feels, heal his injuries and minimize the potential long-term damage to his health?

These athletes play not only for their own wealth and glory, but even more importantly they play for our entertainment. But unfortunately as fans I don’t think we place enough value on the extreme physical sacrifice that athletes often make for us.

Common sense ought to prevail here in dealing with this issue.

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DavidBurnett NBA, Steroids common sense, Mark Cuban, Steroids

It’s as bad as its ever been here in Washington. I’m not talking about the health care debate, but football. The real glue in this transient city has long been the Redskins. But its been nearly 20 years since the Redskins have fielded a consistently good team.

Making matters worse is that not only is the team mediocre, the Redskins are no longer a respected franchise. And now it appears, the next nail is being hammered – the fans are turning off. The same fans who have technically sold out every home game since the sixties. The same fans who used to watch in big numbers on TV at home.

The man who usually takes most of the blame for Redskins’ woes is Dan Snyder, a hands-on owner, whose only experience in football was when he bought the team ten years ago. Surprisingly I don’t think Synder is the biggest problem anymore. The real threat to the team is apathy.

I was at the game Sunday. Another horrendous loss to a no-win team. Previously 0-5 Kansas City came into Washington’s FedEx Field and shocked the falling Redskins 14 – 6. The Redskins are floundering with a 2 – 4 record on the season.

There were a lot of empty seats as thousands stayed at home. While there was a good measure of booing from those who were there, I got the distinct impression that many of them didn’t really care, and were booing out of habit. For some of them going to the game now is just a ritual.

And sadly many of the young Redskins fans have no idea what a good team wearing burgundy and gold actually looks like.

The Redskins have not scored more than 20 points in a game in two years.

Last week the team brought in an old bingo caller (really) as an offensive consultant, to make recommendations to head coach Jim Zorn. One of a series of desperate moves the team is now making.

But the man they should have called is in Tampa right now – Doug Williams. The former Redskins quarterback and Super Bowl hero is a player personnel executive for the Buccaneers. But he should be here in Washington in some capacity.

Doug won nearly 80 percent of his games as the head coach of his alma mater, legendary Grambling State. He has worked as an NFL assistant coach as well as in the front office.

Doug, who proved at Grambling as both a player and a coach, that he has a creative offensive mind, would bring football savvy to a floundering team, give the Redskin’s fan base the positive jolt it needs and serve as a mentor to the guy who now wears number 17, Jason Campbell.

Memo to Dan Snyder: You seem to be able to find room for just about everyone else, find room for Doug Williams. He could be your general manager or your coach or advisor.

I’m pretty sure he will take your call.

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On Wednesday controversial broadcaster Rush Limbaugh was knocked out of the ownership group that is hoping to buy the St. Louis Rams. Thank goodness!!!

But on Thursday Limbaugh got up and came out swinging. He loudly blamed everyone but himself for what happened to his potential ownership share.

Limbaugh also took a swing at his former partner in the deal, Dave Checketts, who dropped him from the group. Limbaugh says it was Checketts who sought him out to join the ownership group and assured him that there would be no problems with the NFL about his involvement. Now Limbaugh suggests that Checketts betrayed him in order to keep the deal alive.

But it shouldn’t end there. Ironically, I too have a problem with Dave Checketts.

If in fact Checketts approached Limbaugh, why did he do it? If Limbaugh asked Checketts if he could join the ownership group I wonder why did Checketts say yes? In either case I question Checketts’ judgement, and I now wonder whether Checketts is fit to own the Rams even without Rush Limbaugh.

Limbaugh is a polarizing personality who seems intent on not just advancing his own conservative political views, which is his right, but to demonize, demean and ridicule anyone who dares disagree with him. And that is wrong. Although I am not a conservative, I believe strongly that you can nonetheless be a conservative without being intolerant and cruel.

If and when Limbaugh ever learns this and takes it to heart, then perhaps he can own an NFL team. The same can be said for Dave Checketts, who like his former partner, Limbaugh, also might never own an NFL team. Checketts should have known better than to team up with a loudmouth bigot.

Let’s consider the knockout of Limbaugh and perhaps Dave Checketts a victory for civility.

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Another blow to the pro football ownership hopes of Rush Limbaugh.

Now an NFL owner says he doesn’t want to see the conservative broadcaster in the owners box.

Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay said Tuesday that there is no way that he would vote to approve the controversial Rush Limbaugh as an owner of an NFL team.

Limbaugh is reportedly a key part of an ownership group seeking to buy the St. Louis Rams.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Jim Irsay said, “I, myself, couldn’t even consider voting for him. When there are comments that have been made that are inappropriate, incendiary and insensitive … our words do damage, and it’s something that we don’t need.”

Irsay has earned the credibility to speak out against Limbaugh. He has proudly hired two African-American head coaches in this decade. And Irsay who won the Super Bowl three years ago with the revered Tony Dungy at the helm, now has a high-powered, undefeated team under new head coach Jim Caldwell this season. Some football insiders believe this could be the Colts best team yet.

But Irsay will need at least another 8 owners to join him in opposition to Limbaugh. NFL bylaws require that at least 24 of the league’s 32 owners must vote in favor of an ownership change.

Several NFL players have spoken out against Rush Limbaugh, and they have been joined by the NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith who indicated the other day that he also strongly opposes Limbaugh’s bid.

Sports have long been the place where America has tested its appetite for tolerance. But changes on the playing fields and on the courts did not come without many disappointments, hurts and shame. But more than 60 years ago several significant racial barriers were hurdled.

Joe Louis won the heavyweight championship of the world in the 1930s. Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin in front of Adolph Hitler. And of course Jackie Robinson integrated Major League Baseball in 1947. Those three athletes transcended their sports and helped change the way America viewed and treated all African-Americans.

Here’s hoping a united front of NFL owners, players and fans speak up strongly against Rush Limbaugh and send an even more powerful message about the kind of progress we’ve made as a nation.

UPDATE

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Florida State’s loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday may be the defeat that effectively ends Bobby Bowden’s coaching career.

With the loss Florida State falls to 2 – 4. This is the school’s worst start in 30 years.

This loss, 49 – 44, comes in the midst of a brewing drama in Tallahassee about the coaching future of Bowden. Last week the president of the board of trustees called for this season to be Bowden’s last. Things got so bad that even Bowden’s wife publicly lashed out at her husband’s critics.

But let’s not kid ourselves, the 79 year old Bobby Bowden knows he’s in trouble, and he knows that this time its serious. These losses are a huge weight around his neck that will serve as justification for those who want to see an elderly Bowden step down.

It is really difficult for any coach past the age of 70 to have a real hold on the job. No aging coach is immune from that fact. But with that said the simple way for the aging coach to keep the wolves at bay is to keep winning. And even that only lasts so long. The cruel fact is once you get to a certain age, even winning isn’t enough.

In just a couple of years, believe it or not, we will be asking these very same questions about Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski.

Coach K is already the ultimate coaching icon, with three national championships to his credit, he is just a year removed from winning an Olympic gold medal coaching the U.S. men’s basketball team. But in time Coach K’s accomplishments will be forgotten by some and will be found irrelevant by others. This is what is happening to Bobby Bowden now.

Which beg the questions: How do you properly say goodbye to a legend? How do you force out the man who singlehandedly changed the fortunes of Florida State football? I guess you just do it and deal with the consequences later. The powers that be at Florida State are working on those questions now.

This is where things stand with Bobby Bowden, who has now given his critics all the ammunition they need to force his exit.

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We learned this week that Rush Limbaugh is part of an ownership group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams. But a couple of NFL players are making clear that they are having none of it. Saying they would never play for a team owned by Limbaugh.

Let’s deal with facts. Limbaugh is a race-baiter. His history for fostering racial division is long and distressing. But he is also an extremely well-paid, highly-skilled, professional broadcaster. Which means Limbaugh knows exactly what he is saying on his number-one rated radio show. That makes him especially dangerous.

While I’m not a conservative, I do not for one minute believe that most conservatives are racists. But where are the decent conservatives to straighten out the Limbaugh’s of the world when their discourse turns ugly? Does their silence make them complicit in Limbaugh’s and others’ demeaning rants? I believe it does.

Rush Limbaugh is famous for criticizing what he calls “the drive-by media” or as they are also known – “the mainstream” media.

But the irony is that some of those very same mainstream media companies own many of the radio stations that carry Limbaugh’s show. And not one of them has repudiated the hateful things that Limbaugh has often said, and why should they? Limbaugh is making millions for them.

So why might it fall on the NFL to decide if Rush is acceptable or not. Sadly, millions of Americans think he’s just fine – the ratings certainly say so – and so too do the broadcast companies that profit from him.

This is a deeply polarized time in this country.

It’s a time when President Obama who is bi-racial can be called a racist with very little in the way of protest from anyone. Glenn Beck, the TV host who stupidly called the president a racist, is still allowed to spew his ignorance on the air. And Beck’s network, Fox News Channel, has done nothing so far to reign Beck in. Fox officials simply point to his ratings, which continue to go up.

So while I applaud the players for speaking out against Limbaugh, I am appalled that too many other Americans and corporations for way, way too long have been willing to sit in silence and do virtually nothing about racial hatred broadcast over the air.

I don’t think this is really about the NFL or Rush Limbaugh at all.
It’s really about us and what we are willing to put up with.

UPDATE

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Record ratings! Lots of people watched Brett Favre’s revenge game with the Minnesota Vikings against his former team the Green Bay Packers.

An estimated 21.8 million people tuned in. That’s 3 million more people than have ever watched any cable TV program in history.

Such is the power of Brett Favre. It certainly didn’t hurt that Favre played well and the game was competitive.

This is what ESPN had hoped would happen when it acquired Monday Night Football.

Maybe now ESPN can make its case to televise the Super Bowl one day.

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Okay I admit it. Brett Favre really did defy time. Quick release, pinpoint accuracy, almost all of his passes at just the right moment.

That is how Brett Favre used to play in his prime. That’s how he played last night on Monday Night Football.

Thanks largely to Favre, Minnesota won at home 30 to 23.

Favre wanted to put a hurt on Green Bay, and he did. Publicly he said the game was not about revenge. But the fact is he had a great game in a Minnesota uniform against his old team. Favre proved without a doubt that he can still play. Revenge enough.

But I praise Favre reluctantly. The last few years I’ve found it really hard to support this guy. Honestly, I’m way past tired of his yearly drama agonizing about whether he wants to play or not.

But what do I know? Maybe Favre really did want to retire those three or four times, but changed his mind. But does the past really matter? Not after last night. The hollywood ending actually happened. And best of all Favre gets to do it again later this season when he and his Vikings travel to Green Bay. It will be really interesting to see how Packer fans will respond to Favre.

A couple of points. Do note that Favre’s replacement in Green Bay Aaron Rodgers had nearly 400 yards passing. But Rodgers was sacked multiple times. He didn’t have a lot of time to throw but he threw anyway. And Rodgers threw it pretty well. Aaron Rodgers is a first tier quarterback – even if for now he is known mostly as the guy who replaced Brett Favre.

As an added bonus, the Minnesota/Green Bay game is expected to go down as the most watched cable TV program of all-time.

Brett Favre is Mr. Monday Night once again.

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The other day I wrote about Joe Paterno, one of the great coaching icons who is still getting it done at Penn State at age 82. But another senior citizen coach is not faring nearly as well.

Florida State’s Bobby Bowden is facing the inevitable end of his coaching career. Calls for his ouster are getting louder than ever.

Questions about Bowden’s tenure are happening during a season that started with great promise but is now quickly unraveling. Florida State has just two wins and three losses this season.

The losses have dampened enthusiasm for the team and have made the soon to be 80-year old Bowden especially vulnerable to calls that he step down.

On Monday the chairman of the university’s board of trustees made it clear that he wants to see Bowden gone at the end of this season. The school already has an agreement with a coach in waiting in offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher, who is to be paid a reported penalty of 5 million dollars if he is not named Florida Sate’s head coach by the 2010 season.

But indications are Bowden wants to keep coaching. Which means it is looking more and more like it won’t end smoothly for either Bowden or Florida State.

There have been many great teams at Florida State. For years, from the seventies thru the nineties, Bowden’s Seminoles would finish no worse than the top ten. Florida State won national championships in 1993 and 1999. That defined success at Florida State. But now it seems those were many years ago.

The central figure in all of Florida State’s football success has always been Bobby Bowden. Bowden remains down home and syrupy, the epitome of “Aw shucks,” which only enhances his engaging personality.

But most importantly Bobby Bowden has been a big winner. He is number two on the all-time major college victory list behind Joe Paterno. And like Paterno did at Penn State, Bowden singlehandedly built Florida State into a national power.

The folks in Tallahassee want a winner again,. They look across the state at the University of Florida and wonder why they can’t do what the Gators are doing.

The University of Miami appears to be re-emerging. And it doesn’t help that upstart South Florida is also starting to make a name for itself. Which puts even more pressure on the historical expectations at Florida State.

I know age is a factor in pushing Bobby Bowden out. There aren’t too many coaches his age. Only one I can think of. But Florida State was a powerhouse. The Seminoles aren’t any longer. That’s as big a factor as anything.

So as much as I feel for Bobby Bowden and his desire to continue coaching, change sometimes has to be forced. Even if in some eyes it might be too soon or for the wrong reasons.

UPDATE

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DavidBurnett Coaches, College Football Bobby Bowden, Coaches, Florida State, Joe Paterno

I watched an old-fashioned Big Ten football game Saturday afternoon. Penn State against Illinois. It turned out to be an easy Penn State victory 35 to 17.

I decided to sit through this relatively meaningless game as a way to honor the past. Years ago a game like this actually mattered but I also remember that we only had a couple of TV channels from which to choose.

I was struck most by the sight of octogenarian Joe Paterno back patrolling the sidelines looking as lively as he did 20 years ago when he was only 62.

Okay, yes I admit it. Any post I write about Joe Paterno must deal with his age. It’s hard to shake it. From a news standpoint the only thing that really matters is that JoePa is very old and he’s still winning. By the way he is the winningest coach in major college football history.

But the other not so nice story that we can’t politely talk about, is that we are also looking for the first sign that this old dude is slipping. Is he going to mix up some names? Does he know where the game is being played? Come on be honest I know that crosses your mind – right?

But even looking closely I don’t see a hint of slippage in Joe Paterno.

What I do see is a guy who can still mix it up, command the sidelines and win.

Now the hard to please will grant Paterno his much due props for being a miracle of old age, but they will also quickly point out that Old Joe still can’t beat Iowa, USC or any of those teams in the SEC. True that. But should that matter?

Years ago a game like Penn State/Illinois was the Game of the Week. But unfortunately not anymore.

So, no, it was not a pretty game by 21st Century standards, but it was definitely old school. With a smart old guy on the sideline keeping things nice and steady.

That was good enough for me.

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The Game of the Week is easily Green Bay against Minnesota on Monday Night Football. It will be Brett Favre’s first game against the Packers since he left the team two seasons ago.

Favre denies its a revenge game. But don’t believe a word he says. Favre’s track record for honesty is pretty shaky these days. You just know Favre wants to prove to the Packers that he still has it and that the team should not have moved him out.

And never forget that Favre holds every significant passing record in the NFL. Be assured Favre hasn’t forgotten.

But the guy who replaced Favre, Aaron Rodgers, has something to prove as well. He is now the quarterback of the Packers.

Yes, the Packers lost a lot of games with Rodgers last season, but it was not Rodgers’ fault. Rodgers threw for over 4000 yards and 28 touchdowns. That’s a great season by any standard for any quarterback. But all Rodgers hears is Brett Favre.

An impressive win by Rodgers helps both he and the Packers move on. You had best believe the Packers’ front office is seeking vindication too! It was their call to move on without Favre.

While the plot lines for this game are intriguing, The game could be monumental for cable TV.

While Monday Night Football is always the week’s top cable show, ESPN is poised to have the biggest audience in the network’s history, and possibly the biggest in cable TV history on Monday night.

ESPN pays the highest rights fee of any network to the NFL – more than a billion dollars per year. But ESPN does not get the rights to broadcast the Super Bowl. Those rights are retained by the three broadcast networks – Fox, CBS and NBC.

The NFL is still not yet ready to give the Super Bowl to a cable network. But that could change if the Packers – Vikings audience on ESPN is as big as some predict.

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Nike is now backing away from statements suggesting that Michael Vick has an endorsement deal. Nike said today that there is no contract between the company and Vick.

The sports apparel company issued a statement saying that it is only supplying Vick with shoes and other gear. Company officials emphasize that this is no more than it does with other NFL players not under contract with Nike.

It appears to me that Nike was testing the waters on a deal with Vick.

And it looks like the reception may not have been what Nike expected or was prepared to weather.

Vick endorsing products is more than a touchy subject. The dog-fighting charges Vick pled guilty to and spent nearly two years in prison for, have subjected him to unprecedented scrutiny and scorn.

Clearly Vick will have to wait awhile longer before he gets any extras.

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I assume that a lot of thought went into the decision by Nike to re-sign Michael Vick to an endorsement deal.

Two years ago the world’s top sports apparel company dropped Vick after he was indicted and pled guilty on dog-fighting charges.

It’s always interesting how the sponsor thing works out when sports stars get in trouble. There is a lot of hypocrisy involved.

Sponsors make the real decisions where sports are concerned. And clearly Nike is betting millions that the pressure is finally easing on Vick and that it is okay to do deals with him again.

His agent Joel Segal said – “Mike has a long-standing, great relationship with Nike, and he looks forward to continuing that relationship.”

This is a down economy right now and Vick in good times and bad is still big business. His Atlanta Falcons jersey was always a huge seller. Now his Philadelphia jersey exceeds the sales of the Eagles’ injured starting quarterback Donovan McNabb.

No matter what the so-called experts said about his ability to play quarterback, Vick was far and away one of the leagues most popular players. And he was certainly the most explosive and dynamic.

What the NIke deal may also suggest is that the image makeover that Vick is undertaking, by speaking out against dog-fighting and animal abuse wherever and whenever he can, is working. Either that or we have misjudged just how much the public cares about this issue.

A couple of things to watch for:

Let’s see if Nike gets hurt by this decision. (I think Nike will be fine)

It’ll also be interesting to find out whether other sponsors will sign Vick to endorsement deals.

As it stands now, Michael Vick is proving that the court of public opinion will certainly judge, but will not always convict.

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University of Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl is funnier than most coaches. But one of his recent jokes fell victim to political correctness. Resulting in a quick but perhaps unnecessary apology.

The other day Pearl, with perfect comics timing, joked about how he deals with the various cultures of the players he coaches.

“I’ve got a tough job. I’ve got to put these guys from different worlds together, right?” Pearl said. “I’ve got guys from Chicago, Detroit … I’m talking about the ‘hood! And I’ve got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood.”

You can clearly hear the laughs. Was the audience wrong for laughing? Or was the joke just painfully funny?

Other questions also come to mind.

Can we joke about the klan? Why should Pearl have to apologize for a joke about racism?

I suppose its all in the context. Had Bruce Pearl been a comedian doing the very same joke in a comedy club in Tennessee he would have gotten huge laughs. Even the father of one of the white players says he didn’t find the joke offensive. He said it was just a joke.

Bruce Pearl is a smooth, glad-handing guy with jewish roots who has worked the south with ease. If anyone knows how to balance the racial and ethnic confusion that we live in it’s Bruce Pearl.

We are far too politically correct these days. Jokes are meant to collide with the truth.

Sometimes the truth needs to be laughed at.

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