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“Were You Watching TV”

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The Olympics are over, and there is a sense of a return to normalcy in television.

The networks are back to normal programming. The debut of new programs for fall are just around the corner. Here comes the NFL on TV, College Football, and Baseball”s postseason.

It was interesting to see what viewers in San Diego did, how they chose, what they watched.

With access to the Neilsen TV ratings, I chose last Friday night to do a cross-section evaluation of what viewers were watching.

NBC 7-39 (KNSD) had tons of coverage, and the NBC Network spread out all their coverage on their network of channels. NBC-Sports, CNBC, MSNBC and others picked up all types of specialty events.

Padres baseball (FSSD) presents a tremendous network quality broadcast from first pitch to last out, and has drawn strong ratings over the last couple of years, since Fox Sports San Diego took over the broadcasts. Their pregame shows are cumbersome, sometimes unwatchable, and seem to struggle for consisent quality of content. Being a near last place team hasn’t helped.

The Chargers games are on CBS-8 (KFMB), which does a local telecast of preseason games, and then carries the CBS-network feed when the Chargers are in regular season.

I broke down the Friday night viewing habits, into 3-time slots.

6pm hour….
Olympics-Track & Field…..22.0-share
Chargers-Arizona game…… 8.7-share
Padres Pregame……………..1.4-share

8pm hour
Olympics-Track-Gymnastics..24-.0-share
Chargers-Arizona gme………..10.2-share
Padres-Diamondbacks……….. 2.0-share

9pm hour
Olympics-Ryan Lochte story…32.0-share
Chargers-Arizona……………….12.3-share
Padres Postgame………………. 1.0-share

Don’t know what you were watching, but the sports fans and the general population were engrossed by Usain Bolt, the gymnasts and the swimmer, not so much watching backup players in an NFL game, or a battle for last place between the Padres-Diamondbacks.

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“Cubs-How Get So Good?”

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So that’s what a lst place baseball team looks like.

The Chicago Cubs, once lampooned as a laughing stock in baseball, the ones forever linked to the Curse of the “Billy Goat”, the team that plays in old Wrigley Field with ivy on the walls, and the club once owned by the chewing gum guru are now something really special.

These are not your dad’s Cubs of Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. Not grand dad’s team of Hack Wilson. They are not your great grand dad’s Cubs either, from Tinkers to Evers to Chance.

This is a lst place team, built on the draft, on international signings, and thru some very positive trade acquisitions..

Cubs baseball is anchored by the power hitting 3rd baseman they drafted from USD, Kris Bryant, and the 1st baseman they stole in a trade, Anthonyh Rizzo.

It’s a team that loaded up in the draft, with power hitting oujtfielder Kyle Schwarber, currently on the DL, and a team that hit the jackpot with Cuban signings with Jorge Soler, Javy Baez and Wilson Contreras.

On top of that, it is a roster bolstered by trades that have panned out well. Dexter Fowler, the power hitter from Colorado, shortstop Addison Russell from the A’s, and Jason Heyward, once highly regarded in Atlanta. Ben Zobrist plays everywhere and is having a star type season.

It’s a fearsome batting order, with power on the corners, and dangers in most slots. There are few easy outs, and lots of guys who can step up and win you games.

The one chunk of the roster that is different is the pitching staff. There is not one front end home grown arm on the staff.

Jon Lester came in a big money free agent signing from Boston, where he won at Fenway, just like he is winning at Wrigley. Somehow Jake Arietta got away from Baltimore and became gold in Chicago.

John Lackey, ex of Angels-Red Sox-Cardinals succers, arrived as a free agent. Kyle Hendricks was a throw in on a trade as a young prospect. Relief ace Hector Rondon was a Rule 5-guy.

It seems everything team President Theo Epstien and GM Jed Hoyer touch turns golden.

It hasn’t been that easy though, for there was a lot of bad history to overcome.

The Cubs rolled.into Petco Park with a (78-45) record. Since opening day in 2015, the franchise is (175-110)., and will be the favorite to get to the World Series and beyond.

History writes however about bad times. Before all this began, they went a combined (271-377). Included were seasons in which they lost 91-96-101.

They have won just 2-division titles since 1990. They haven’t been to a World Series since 1945-vs the Tigers. They haven’t won a World Series since 1908. That was alot of double plays ago.

Monday was a packed house at Petco Park, even if it sounded like Wrigleyville-West.

These are great times right now in the Windy City and on Rush Street.

The franchise that gave us “Let’s Play Two-Ernie Banks”, the College of Coaches, Leo the Lip Durocher, and Harry Caray, is now giving us great baseball to watch.

The blueprint works. San Diego is a melting pot, and a good baseball town. All it needs is a good team.

Look at the Cubs. Hopefully the Padres are taking notes.

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“Quarterback Club Comments”

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Chargers Win…That was pretty impressive, a pounding of the Arizona Cardinals. Yes it is only preseason, but the statement the defense made, the way they played, especially against Carson Palmer and most of the first unit was pretty solid. The bottom line, just (206Y) allowed..1-sack, 3-tackles for loss, 2-picks.

Bolts Blitz…The pass rush got only one sack, but got lots of pressure…Brandon Mebane clogged up the run game, and the edge rushers and the part-time blitz scheme got into the face of the Cardinals QBs much of the night.

Shutdown Secondary…Game balls to a bunch of guys…Brandon Flowers read a bubble screen, picked it off and scored, though he got beat down the field a couple of times too….Jason Verrett was superb in coverage, and with a key deflection…Ditto for Casey Hayward…Dwight Lowery had a couple of crunching tackles and a blitz run…and Jahleel Addae took an overthrown pass back 61-yards to set up a field goal, thanks to QB pressure.

Kids Can Do….Everyone has been talking about Tyrell Williams, and the 6’3 receiver caught 4-more balls down the field winning matcups…He seems to be moving front and center to replace both the retired Malcom Floyd and the injured Stevie Johnson…Am surprised not more snaps yet for ex-Packer-Raider James Jones.

Offensive Line…Yes it’s healthy, and yes it seems to be holding up in pass blocking, but it’s not run blocking….Against the Cardinals front, 24-carries for just 48-yards…

Melvin Gordon…Still waiting for him to break off a couple of big runs…In space isolated on people, he is very dangerous…Still don’t seem to be many holes for him to run to.

Lambo Blast….Josh Lambo kicked 4-field goals including a 50-yarder…most of his kickoffs were in the endzone, once upon a time, that was good, but not now, with the ball coming out to the 25-on touchbacks….Unless the Chargers sky kick it to the five, teams won’t be bringing back many of Lambo’s kicks.

Kasor Can Do…Drew Kasor does have a strong leg, so we wait to see if he can now become a positional punter on occassion.

Joey Bosa….There may have been conversations, but as of Sunday night, still no Joey Bosa sighting at the team hotel or in team meetings. Keeping score at home, he has missed 2-games, 2-scrimmages, 30-practices and 50-meetings. Knowing John Pagano’s playbood of exoctice formations and coverages is one thing, being able to execute it, when you are not in camp taking reps, is another thing.

Why-Why-Why….More verbal warfare from the Chargers organization, this time Fred Maas, using facebook ads to go after City Councilman Chris Cates, an opponent of Plan C-the Stadium Initiative. It’s one thing to criticize the critics, it’s another thing though to put the councilman’s office number in ads, and invite Chargers fans to bombard his office and his secretary with critical calls. That’s borderline harrassment. That’s classless. And obviously sanctioned by owner Dean Spanos. This comes on the heels of 9-months of public tirades by Spanos mouthpiece Mark Fabiani over the CSAG efforts and the Qualcomm sight. And Spanos wonders why he has no political currency amongst politicians in this city.

Next stop-Minnesota….The Chargers got smoked in Tennessee. They turned around and scorched Arizona at the Q. We see how they play heading back out ont he road, facing Teddy Bridgewater, Norv Turner and the Vikings next weekend. The first roster cuts come up after that game.

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“Red-White & Blue-Black Eye”

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It’s not a big thing really, but it’s become a big thing now.

The venue, the people involved, the hypocrisy.

What was Ryan Lochte thinking about, when he formulated the ‘Brazilian Police robbery’ story to cover-up a night of drinking on the town?

What was the USOC thinking with there initial statements ‘we believe our athletes’, before an investigation had begun?

What about the IOC, ripping the national media for taking the story and running with it, saying ‘let the boys have fun’?

Everybody has issues now.

The 4-American swimmer liked to the police. In Brazil they believe it is a sign of disrespect, treating authorities like a bunch of rubes, that you can do anything, say anything. In our country, lies to the police become ‘obstruction of justice’.

It becomes a legal issue with passports seized of three swimmers, while Lochte sits at home in the US, having gotten out early from Rio.

For the Olympic officials, another smirch on their shiny image, all this after the dope testing-tampering debacle involving the Russian athletes.

In the bigger picture we have the arrogance of all things IOC, and they understanding, they got their money from the games, so they don’t care.

It’s a misdemeanor crime. Breaking down a bathroom door after a night of drinking. They paid the gas station attendant some $30 for what they did.

What they did afterward was worse. The robbery story, the gunmen, the lies, the denials, and now the truth.

The swimmers owe the IOC, USOC and Brazil an apology. They don’t deserve jail time. But they will pay a price, because the USOC will likely hand down some sanctions. The IOC and USOC owe Brazil an apology for their early responses about the case.

I don’t know if it’s equal to Hope Solo’s domestic abuse and alcohol issues, but it’s a violation of code, etiquette and Olympic ethics?. Is it worse than Michael Phelps off season DUI’s?

I should not invoke the word ‘ethics’ around anything with the IOC attached to it. Something about kickbacks , profiteering, scams, shakedowns.

I’d say it’s ‘much ado about nothing, but it has an international tinge to it, so it must be addressed.

But for 24-hours, dealing with drunk swimmers has taken away from the spotlight of the gymnasts, swimmers, sprinters, this second week of the Olympiad.

You’ll recognize Ryan Lochte, the guy with the green hair, wearing red-white and blue, with a black eye.

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“NFL Hall of Fame-Hall of Shame Vote”

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The NFL Selection Committee has met, to come up with new candidates to place on the ballot for next year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot, and no one is happy.

The Contributors section of the ballot, chooses two candidates for inclusion on the overall Hall of Fame list.

This year’s nominee was 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, who built a franchise that won 5-Super Bowls over a decade and a half run.

This year’s committee has decided that former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and Dallas owner Jerry Jones, will be on the ballot, to be voted on next February.

The decisions have not been received well at all, nationwide.

Tagliabue drove a league into amazing profit margins, with the ever increasing TV contracts they negotiated, the black out rules, and the demand for new stadiums, built with public funds, across the map. It was borderline extoriton.

Under his blueprint, owners pockets were lined with green, while cities tumbled into red-ink. It was under his reign, LA lost both its franchises in ugly divorces with Rams and Raiders fans.

It was the Tagliabue era that gave us the concussion crisis, the naming of Dr. Elliot Pellman to head the Brain Injury Committee, the 14-white papers that quoted “there is no link between concussions and brain damage issues”.

Years later, a 935M settlement to be paid out to dying players, and the families of players, who committed suicide, because of brain damage.

Tagliabue becomes known as the ‘Concussion Commisioner’. The world has alledged coverup for decades. There are no smoking guns, no paper trails, but suddenly a big money settlement from owners.

I doubt these owners found conscience after all these years. Connect the dots.

How could anyone not link one to the other, with Tagliabue and his people as the conduit of all this.

Jerry Jones goes in, as a businessman extraordinare, Valley Ranch, Texas Stadium, his mega financial deals. But his franchise is, and has been, a mess. Not since Jimmy Johnson’s Super Bowl seasons, and the short success of Barry Switzer, with the team he inherited from Johnson, have the Cowboys done anything.

More recently it seems Jerry Jones is running a ‘drug rehab’ center not a pro football team. Name a player in recent trouble, and his career has taken him thru the Cowboys star.

The committe bypassed a sentimental favorite, in Pat Bowlen, whose Broncos won Super Bowl rings, went to the dance 5-times, and won 13-division titles too.

Bowlen is dying of dementia. His accomplishments, with class, should have been recognized.

Longtime NFL ref Art McNally, former General Manager Bobby Beathard, linked to 4-Super Bowl teams, and innovative coach Don Coryell, who changed the game, were all bypassed.

When they vote on the ballot next February during Super Bowl week, it shall be interesting to see if Tagliabue-Jones get in.

I wouldn’t, for there are other people, good people on that NFL list, who deserve consideration for accomplishments, via a quality of standards above and beyond what the Jones-Tagliabue names bring to the table.

The voting media, in the know, knows how to vote. I think a shutout, a ‘no’ vote is the right thing to do.

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