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“Sports Weekend–What I Saw–What I Think”

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NFL…The reaction to radical changes in the Rooney Rule, the hiring of minorities for head coaching and GM jobs, has come from every direction.  Some positive, some negative, alot of it unknown.  The NFL owners meet via Video Conference on Tuesday to consider a plan to give an award of draft pick compensation if teams hire black head coach, black GMs, black coordinators or QB-coaches.  Could involve 3rd-4th-5th round draft picks.  It seems shameful of ‘buying blacks jobs’ in key positions.  The Rooney Rule needs to be expanded but bribing teams with upgrades in draft picks is not the right way.  Improve the interview process, and they are discussing that.  Mandate teams not only interview multiple black candidates for each key positions, but do something else.  Have NFL teams hire a minority intern to be a key assistant coordinator.  Have those teams interview hot candidates, former coaches, former players, hot college coaches, and put them on staff to gain experience.  Those guys become part of the candidates pool to learn and earn their spurs to see if they can be the next head coaching candidate in years to come.  Bribing teams with picks to hire minorities is not the right way to go.

NFL TROUBLE…The armed robbery charges against Giants former 1st round pick Deandre Baker and Seahawks friend Quinton Dunbar are very troubling.  Armed robbery, threats to shoot people, are much deeper and worse than a DUI or a bar fight or marijuana.  Both should be made examples of…and taken out of the game, lawyers and players unions be damned.

SDSU…Why there is an agenda within the ranks of the City Government is beyond me, and thus asking why this rancor that continues over the 86M purchase of stadium land by San Diego State for the beginning process of constructing a new football stadium.  I have been here for 30-years, and progress on all things to improve San Diego seem non-existent.  The struggles to build, expand the Convention Center, the legal war to build Petco Park, the impossible scenario to build an NFL Stadium, and now this, when the money is in place and all protocols signed off, and yet City Council wants more answers to new questions they keep creating.  If this situation fails, the stain on Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s legacy will be terrible.  The loss of the Chargers still looms out there, and now this.

AZTECS THREAT…AD John David Wicker’s threat to take his football team to play somewhere else after 2020 seems hollow.  Unless he is opening talks to move SDSU games to Petco Park, and the Padres don’t think the calendar fits, where else is he going to play.  I don’t know if Wicker thinks he has a magic bullet in his gun to make City Council agree to terms of the sale of the stadium, but this bullet seems to be a blank, unless the Padres, in need of all revenue streams, will change their mind and take SDSU money for rental of Petco Park.

TESTING-TESTING…MLB-NBA-NFL buying test kits to open up their seasons.  Huge amounts of tests on every player, every staff member.  But huge pressure points on stressed out labs to get the results back for each player.  All this while the death toll pushes to 90,000 in our country.  How to balance priorities, what’s important for society.  As the lead infectious doctor in Canada said, we have 500-women facing breast cancer surgery in Toronto who need tests.  And I am supposed to give those kits to the Blues Jays-Maple Leafs so they can go play games?

PADRES PAYROLL…The amount of money being lost by the pandemic shutdown of baseball is incredible.  And now, not only facing just a half season of games, no fans in the stands, adds even more financial trauma on the club ownership.  Layoffs and furloughs began at Petco Park on Friday.  Give credit though, ownership met 5-payrolls for all employees since the shutdown, and will keep those laid off on health plans till December 31st.  When you read the Padres could lose 172M-in gate revenue this season alone with no fans at Petco Park, on top of all their other financial losses, it is staggering.

BASEBALL JUST ASKING…No problem with Bryce Harper and Blake Snell and others sounding off about taking more paycuts to go back and play in a shortened season.  But don’t use the risk-reward issue.  To read Harper and Snell’s comments, they’d return to play in whatever risk exists if they got their full 30M salaries, but not at half price, or even a further reduction?  Seems a lame explanation for want of a full payday.

A ROD-A FRAUD…So Alex Rodriguez, ever the money grabber in baseball, who was always out for himself and his next contract, now wants players to take a further paycut.  This from a guy who made (441M) in salaries.  Read between the lines.  A-Rod wants to become an MLB owner like Derek Jeter, and thinks siding with the owners will help him enter that circle.

NBA…A real free for all now.  Owners want their money, players want their money, and the talks to restart keep changing.  Now the union says let’s finish the full 82-game schedule, even in a bubble, and then go do the playoff thing.  So what if it goes till Labor Day.  Everybody gets paid.  The association is even looking a pushing the start of next season back till December, to get this season in.

HOCKEY…A different approach.  Find a way to have a 24-team playoff with mini-series and get to the Stanley Cup.  Shorter series, best of three-best of five, get those games in and get your TV money.  The key making sure next season starts on time in October.

NASCAR….I thought it would be a disaster, but the Darlington 400 got green flagged and ran well in the first race back.  Amazing work by team engineers to get cars set up to race on a very tough track, with no practice time, no qualifying.  Strange no fans in the stands, but the drivers-cars were the key storylines.  Tough day for Jimmy Johnson crashing out while in the lead.  Amazing day to see Ryan Newman driving, 3-months after his horrific crash at Daytona at the finish line.

GOLF IS GOOD-TELECAST NOT SO MUCH…The concept was great..NBC bringing back the Taylor Made-Skins game..but the execution wasn’t.  Live pics exceptional idea in an exhibition.  Camera shots, production was good.  Too many analysts.  There was only 1-group playing not a typical Sunday on the PGA tour.  Too much Bill Murray.  Did we really need Donald Trump?  It was trial and error, just like the NFL draft.  Maybe they get better next time.  Next time is Phil Mickelson-Tiger Woods Champions for Charity tourney a week from now.

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“Chargers Win–Chargers Win–Finally Something in Los Angeles”

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They came up with the phrase, “Fight for LA”, the battle with the Rams for football fans in Los Angeles over the last three years.

And while the Rams were winning and going to the Super Bowl, the Chargers were meandering around the AFC-West, winning some, losing some.

And while the Rams were drawing massive crowds of 60-to-72,000 for home games at the LA Coliseum, the Chargers were playing 16-road games a year, including 8-road games at home, where their tiny soccer stadium was overrun by fans wearing the other teams colors.  Not alot of friendly fans when 27,000 or so showed up.

One day the color of the day at Chargers games at home might be red (Chiefs), or orange (Broncos), or definitely black (Raiders) and surely Black & Gold (Steelers).

The offseason has seen the Bolts say goodbye to Philip Rivers and Melvin Gordon.  The Rams bid farewell to Todd Gurley, Brandin Cooks and alot of people from the defense.

A new year awaits, we think, but the Chargers have finally scored a victory in LA.

The uniform war.

Oh the Bolts will still not surpass the Lakers popularity, the Dodgers history, what the Clippers have become, nor USC-UCLA, maybe not even the Kings.

But in head to head competition with the Rams, when it came time to release the new uniforms, as they move into the new So-Fi Stadium in the Fall, the Chargers got rave reviews, the Rams got booed.

Weeks ago, the Bolts unveiled their Powder Blue and Gold jerseys and pants.  They added the clean ‘All Whites’ and introduced the the Blue Rush outfits.  All this wrapped around the heritage Lightning Bolt on the helmet.

This week the Rams unveiled their re-designed uniforms.  A newly designed Rams horn on a Blue helmet.  Rams Royal-blue jerseys with gold pants, and Rams striping on the shoulder and pants.  A weir combination of off white jerseys and pants, and their version of Royal rush.

The reviews from what few Chargers fans have been positive….86-percent taking part in an NBC poll loved the new Powder Blues.  The same survey showed 75-percent of Rams fans, who participated, turned thumbs down on the new look horns and designs of the uniforms.

Of course, when asked to vote in the 1-day survey, only (8,765) Chargers fans cast votes.  The Rams had (29,279) participate.

While Rams fans screamed they wanted the historic jerseys of yesteryear back with that team, the preponderance of those who commented on the Chargers jerseys…they said it screamed ‘San Diego Chargers’.

So the more things might change, they still really remain the same.  The Rams are LA’s iconic team…the Chargers are on the periphery.

But for one day, the Chargers did better than the Rams in LA.
The Bolts?  They will look good.  How good they play remains to be seen.  The Rams?  They are good, but they might dress badly.  Whether the perception of fans in Los Angeles remains ever changes will be the debate.

Back to normal, and the great discussion will continue.  Will anyone ever care about the Chargers in Los Angeles?

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“Topics on a Thursday”

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Here-there-everywhere.
Some opinions about everything I pay attention to.

MLB-UNION…Everything about baseball is about money.  So the latest discussion about how to reopen the game safely for everyone, how to do it in empty stadiums, and how to handle it financially.  Owners need the games to be played.  Players need the games to be played to be paid.  Give me 3-weeks of negotiations and this will get done.  Now whether the Virus-Crisis will let the games to be played it another issue out of our control.  They are talking 50-players per team to restart spring training, so you have the clubhouse issues, the dugout issues, and the number of people it would still take to put games on at Dodgers Stadium, Angels Stadium, Petco Park.  Significant risk.

NFL…With rumblings there will be another outbreak of the virus..the NFL is about to feel the pain everyone else is going to feel.  Luckily for them, they still have time on their side for camps won’t open till August or even September, and a September opening could be moved back to October and a Super Bowl to be played February 28th is still a possibility.  But you have 90-players in training camp, and the huge staff to tend to those players.  Keeping everyone healthy is a huge challenge considering how many people it takes to operate a pro football team.

NBA…Play in a bubble, go to the postseason when you restart, games without fans, seems fairly reasonable.  A lot easier to keep an NBA team healthy and in lockdown than a baseball or football team.  Only 15-players and a staff to be concerned about.  A basketball, two hoops and a game staff all you need.

NHL..The real challenge will be conditioning and playing without getting all your players hurt, if hockey rolls out the postseason.  A 30-man roster is likely, with 4-cities hosting games, without fans.  It might be doable, but the wear and tear factor is going to be a problem.  You got a lot of practice time to get teams ready, working in close proximity to each other.  And the added issue, bringing players back from Canada and Europe, and the whole border crossing issue, and quarantine once they get here.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL….If campuses are not safe to be open for students, how can campuses be then opened to college football teams for practices.  Huge number of players and staff members practicing in 6-weeks of camp, then playing games.  This issue is not about on-line courses in the fall, it’s about being on the field and in meeting rooms.  Their problems are as great if not more than NFL teams.

GOLF…Players, caddies, open spaces, golf courses.  This might be the easiest of all to start, because there won’t be fans in the galleries, and golf is such an isolated stand alone game.

NASCAR-INDY CAR-FORMULA 1….Lots of race teams, together, in close quarters, and then the personnel it takes to put on a race even with no fans in the stands.  We find out May 17th at Darlington, whether this can really be done.  43-NASCAR teams head to South Carolina.  All those racing personnel for each team.  It’s not just about the car and the driver is it?

SOCCER…Everyone from MLS to the EPL (England) are pushing to start.  Again, a large group of players, quartered together, training together, then playing against each other, even with stadiums in lockdown.  Add in the foreign element, of all these players returning to their teams from their home countries, where health is an issue still.  There is danger at every turn..

Just think about how complex all this is.
And start the discussion with ‘testing’ daily or weekly.
Continue the discussion with ‘what if’ someone tests positive.
How do you handle sudden ‘outbreaks-hot spots’.
Easy to say junk the seasons and come back next year.
Full cancellation would likely be followed by teams’ bankruptcies.

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“Gulls–Hockey Season Over Too Soon”

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There is no more hockey this season, at least in the American Hockey League, at least in America’s Finest City..

That means no chance for the hottest team in the AHL, the San Diego Gulls, to make a run to win the Calder Cup, the league championship.

It’s the first time since 1937, 83 years, no Cup will be awarded.

The NHL hopes to restart its season with the playoffs sometime in June or July, but not so the 30-team AHL, spread across the US and parts of Canada..

And so a Gulls team, which has roared from last place to fourth place, won’t get the chance to finish off the job, despite a (5-1-1) streak on the road just before play was suspended, or the amazing (14-2-2) stretch of road games from Christmas on.

The team’s lead executives talked about the end of the season and the AHL decision to shutdown:

(Matt Savant-Gulls President)

,,AHL working for last several weeks, how to consider all options
..Put it to vote…all 30-teams voted cancel…1st time in 83-years un AHL history
..Gulls small business in San Diego..takes a toll on us..
..Won’t tell you the amount of gate revenue we lose, but it is a lot
..Safety of fans and community was important
,,A lot of discussion was the unknown..travel restrictions for one.
..Unknown of what city-state orders would be..so many teams-so many states
..Majority of our teams are owned by NHL franchises…
..We had to look at the locally owned teams and the help they needed
..We all wanted our fans in each city to be able and come back next year
..Concern independently owned teams-not all have strong resource base
..Viability of AHL is very strong-we can come thru this
..AHL needs fans to survive as business entity.
..We went thru multiple scenarios…some fans…no fans…if we have to delay in fall
..We have models to open October with fans-no fans…we have every scenario
..If NHL pushes back start season to December…we don’t know what future holds
..If AHL has to start in December like NHL-we will do it…
..Board of Governors was very business like…came after weeks and weeks of discussion
..Friday vote was fairly business like..no emotion…had to do it

(Kevin Dineen-Coach)

..Question of how long players need in camp…was big discussion point
..Don’t know what NHL teams think they need
..Our players did not have access to ice time in hometowns
..None of our players have tested positive for virus
..Players had level of commitment to return but cannot do it
..Coming from players background…we are all disappointed…reality has set in
..The Best hockey would have been in the weeks to come
..Our trainers have set up video off season workouts for our players
..Gulls stretch run impressive…we had (5-1-1) stretch on road at the end
..One of best runs of the season…we were trending in the right direction
..We were ready for the playoffs…we walked out and knew we arrived
..Woke up the next morning and knew things would change at quick pace
..It was a tough (0-6) start-wondered what did I get myself into
..We did not put personnel in best of spots…as season wore on-we found a formula
..My second time with Ducks organization-learned a lot from Samueli family
..Players will be excited to be back when we come
..We left unfinished business with way the AHL season ended
..If Ducks make playoffs…some Gulls might be part of that.
..Dallas Eakins reached out to each of our players about being ready
..I have re-reached with our players a second time to keep them updated
..There are all kinds of scenarios that will play out
..Young players having so much time off..there will be change for them
..The young kids are learning about this life-they appreciate now how blessed they are.

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“Padres Baseball—Experiment Coming”

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Baseball is ready to go forward starting the weekend of July 4th, they hope.

Padres baseball is hopeful of going forward too, but with lots of unanswered questions.

We know a couple of things for certain.  MLB wants to open spring training camps in June, in most hometown stadiums.

But for some teams, they may have to go back to their spring training camps to get players into camp, because cities are still ‘hot spots’, notably the Yankees-Mets-Orioles-Cubs-White Sox.

We know baseball wants an 82-game schedule, and they have cancelled the All Star Game and the bye week around it.  We also know the formula is to have NL-West teams play their owner division opponents, but also teams in the AL-West from a less travel standpoint.

But because of those city ‘hot spots’, those same teams in the Northeast may have to open with regular season games in Florida and Arizona.

We know baseball wants to break the 47-year tradition of the Designated hitter rule, putting the DH in both lineups for American and National League games.

We know they are willing to expand rosters to 30-players a game and allow a 20-man taxi squad to be part of the team.

Owners want a change too in salaries for this one season, an equal  revenue split, for not just regular season games but the expanded playoff games too.  Give back during the season, reap the benefits of money in the postseason.

We have questions everywhere after that.

The Padres begin furloughs of a large segment of their work staff this coming Sunday.  Credit given to owner Ron Fowler who met 5-payrolls in the two months, since spring training ended.

The 230-fulltime employees at Petco Park, who work on the business side, the stadium side, and baseball side, will given health care during the baseball shutdown, but either no salary, or salary cuts if they remain on the job.

The Padres have a second issue, not yet spoken publicly.  If California is not reopened by Governor Gavin Newsome, would the Padres-Dodgers-Angels-Giants-A’s be forced to open the regular season in the torrid heat of their spring training sites?  It could very well happen.

The medical protocols will be huge, but baseball still has at least a month to configure how to test all baseball staff members, and the scheduling of testing, once parks are opened for camp.

And because everything in baseball is also about money, comes an equally hard part, that the owners want the players to go to a 50-50 revenue share for this season because of the loss of large amounts of money due to the ban of fans in the stands.

The Union, in typical fashion, says that becomes a ‘salary cap’ and they won’t talk about that.

Tony Clark’s Union stance is despicable.

In this era, where baseball salaries average 4M per player this coming season, in a society that has 33M unemployed at this hour, he is trying to have his players get  full pay for the 82-games they will play, even if the Ron Fowler’s of the world are hemmoraghing money daily, and facing another financial loss with no fans in the stands.

Time for the union to do something for the game, rather than themselves.

Clark is the one who months ago used the phrase ‘laboratory season’ when baseball shutdown.  Now he has the chance to do something, to give back to a grieving country.  Give them the games back and have the players play for less for the 3-months of the regular season.

Next year returns to next year and all the rules and regs of a 162-game season, with an expanded playoffs too.  More money in the pot-of-gold that exists.

We need good health in our country.  We need baseball to help heal what we are dealing with emotionally.  The rich don’t need to get richer at this time in our society.

The players needs to give something back, not just to the owners, but also to the fans. Take a 3-month pay-cut and help us heal.

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