The Commissioner

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They had lots of thunder and lightning and heavy rain over the last 48-hours in Baltimore, some 6-inches of rain in all.
 
And you thought that was a storm.  Think of the storm later this morning, when the owners meet to select-and-vote on a Commissioner to replace Bud Selig.
 
This vote may take as long as the selection of the Pope, and the smoke from the chimney this time won’t mean a choice has been made, but rather an inferno of controversy has erupted in the team hotel meeting rooms.
 
There are 3-candidates, two from within the ranks of baseball, Rob Manfred, the right hand man to Selig, and Tim Brosnan, and longtime business and marketing executive from Park Avenue.
 
It is the third candidate who will cause the storm, Boston Red Sox part owner Tom Werner.  Yes, that Tom Werner, of San Diego Padres fame, or is it shame.
 
Selig has canvassed the 30-owners and reportedly believes Manfred, a labor negotiator and business exec, is the right candidate.  Brosnan became a late entrant coming from a non baseball background. 
 
Werner is the Hollywood TV exec, who runs the Red Sox portion of NESN-their big money TV network.  He is not the decision maker, he is not the money man, but is more the third wheel in the power hierarchy led by the brilliance of Larry Lucchino, and the richness of lead owner John Henry’s money.
 
If there is a more vilified owner in San Diego history than Werner, they might be running second, maybe Donald Sterling, late of the since-sold Clippers of the NBA.
 
But Werner is a puppet candidate of power brokers Jerry Reinsdorf (White Sox) and Arte Moreno (Angels).
 
What he has done good for baseball may take some time to research and find. 
 
What he has done bad for baseball is right there in the history books.  The Padres, fire sales, 13M payroll, trades of the stars, Roseanne Barr’s crotch-grabbing national anthem, and more.
 
That qualifies him to be commissioner?
 
Werner’s Band of 15-owners bought the team from the Kroc family and was immediately shocked to find they had to pay not only the purchase price, but their share of free agent collusion damages from the Jack Morris lawsuits of that era.
 
Then as payrolls increased, by virtue of arbitration, they took an 89-win team and traded it into a 100-loss franchise, all the time whining about money when cash-calls had to be made.  They modernized the term “Firesale”.
 
Again, I ask, this is your candidate for the top job in baseball?  Based on what?
 
They only need 7-votes to kill any vote for Manfred.  This could drag out forever, and this makes no sense.   
 
Oh there will be debate for sure about having another owner elevated to the job, compared to someone already entwined in the inner workings of the sport and business of baseball.
 
Hear the thunder?  Waiting for the torrent of criticism? Looking for the smoke from the  hotel suites? 
 
And you thought the storms mid week in Baltimore were bad, just wait to see what happens when it comes time to vote today or tomorrow on baseball’s new leader.

NCAA Nightmare

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The world of college athletics has changed, on the field, and on the court.  And it is definitely changing in the business world.
 
The NCAA is dealing with crisis issues on an almost everyday basis.
 
The 5-Power conferences in the country are about to break away, autonomy is what it’s called.  What it really is, is greed and nothing more.  It appears the Pac 12, Big 12, Big 10, ACC and SEC will go their own way, operate with a different economic model, and let the rest, fend for themselves.
 
The NCAA has just lost a bitter lawsuit, the Ed O’Bannon case, where a judge has now ruled they cannot keep the money they get from sales of jerseys, helmets, memorabilia, if it uses the players likeness and image. 
 
Then there are movements to unionize players, and get players more benefits, health care, food etc.
 
It is a never ending struggle now to maintain what was their business model, a profiteering model, whereby schools made millions, the NCAA headquarters made more, and the players got scholarships as a trade off for athletic ability for the Alma Mater.
 
I see no way out of this for Mark Emmert, the NCAA President.  The mega million TV contracts have been fueled by the athletes success on the field.  The school and the NCAA headquarters reaped all the benefits under the banner of student-athlete.
 
The Big 5-Conference breakaway means different rules for the Pac 12 and the like, and you wonder how the Mountain West or Conference USA will survive, if the big schools have more resources to spend and a new set of rules to operate by.
 
Yes many Division 1-athletes wind up with degrees, but truth be told, the great ones go to college to prepare for a possible pro career, and now they want to be paid more than just room-board-tuition.
 
Call it a cost of living stipend, but really call it for what it really is, the athletes want a cut of the pie.
 
It is complex.  Penn State needs to win to fill 106,000 seat Beaver Stadium.  They need a BCS bowl bid, because football money drives the other 43-intercollegiate varsity and club programs at State College.
 
It’s like that at every school, from Alabama there, to USC here.
 
But the rules for the big boys make it tough on the small guys too.  If the NCAA allows a 2,000-stipend for every football and basketball player at Ohio State, how does a money strapped San Diego State keep up with that?
 
If the NCAA agreement on the O’Bannon lawsuit leads to a 5M payday for football and basketball players at a UCLA, how does a Western Michigan afford that?
 
If the training tables around the clock cost 1.4M a year at Florida State, how can Temple finance that?
 
And then there is Federal Law, and that is Title IX and women’s athletics standing outside the door, saying they are owed the same on an equal basis.
 
You might like the opening of the college football season or March Madness, but I guarantee every NCAA exec in the country has a migraine headache wondering what happens next.
 
The courts and the lawsuits and the judge’s decisions, tell you there is nothing left to be negotiated, because the NCAA didn’t handle it correctly before, and now it’s big money business and they cannot make the rules themselves any longer.

Padres Pitching Potential

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Like the morning fog, the marine layer, over on the coast, you wonder if it is really sunshine you will see coming this way for the San Diego Padres.  Or is the fog so thick, you cannot really make out what you are really watching.
 
And so as the 2014 season grinds to another disappointing, non-playoff end, we have another late season run, where the future has some fuel, while the current season seems burned to the ground.
 
There’s no doubt the Padres have put together an enormous pitching staff, some of it proven, some of it potential.
 
Tyson Ross has become an ace, tutored by Bud Black and Darren Balsley.  It is amazing to think this guy was (2-11) and designated for reassignment by the Oakland Athletics.  Claimed by San Diego, the 6-6 live arm became a reclamation project.  Almost a full year since getting into the rotation, his numbers are impressive.  The record is (11-10) pitching for a team that does not hit.  In his last 10-starts, he has a (1.64) ERA.
 
They fixed his mechanics, rebuilt his confidence, and he as rewarded them with a ‘tough as steel’ pitching mentality.
 
Andrew Cashner has shown us flashes of brilliance, 98-mile an hour fastball and all.  He has dominated in clumps of starts, and then he has gotten hurt.  He has had 6-different arm issues over a three year span, some with the Cubs, some with the Padres.  As dominant as he is throwing heat, and mastering all his other pitches, the tendency to breakdown must be of concern.  He might be a better closer with that velocity, where he would throw 20-pitches in the 9th inning, rather than risking him by asking for 100 pitches per start.
 
Ian Kennedy loves pitching at Petco Park.  The former 20-game winner is a bullodg, a workhorse, and a pros-pro.  He might not be your number one, but you know you will get competition everytime you give him the ball.  A pretty good acquisition from Arizona.
 
Jesse Hahn has hardly pitched at all, after torn elbow ligament shelved him coming out of Virginia Tech.  How-why Tampa Bay gave up on him is amazing.  A year ago this week, he was in the Florida State League-Class A ball.  Now he has an ERA just above 2.00, and has been the biggest suprrise of all, in a late summer of success on the mound.
 
No one quite knows for sure what to make of ‘Viva Havana’, Odi Despaigner.  He had three really dominant outings, but has been shelled his last three starts.  He doesn’t look the same since the 123-pitch near no hit effort a couple of weeks ago.  But he fools people, shows no emotion, doesn’t waver on the mound, and seems that he can handle this level with his different arm slots and variety of pitches.
 
Beyond that are the young arms on the rehab trail, all coming off elbow surgery.  Joe Wieland, Casey Kelly, Corey Leubke, Robbie Erlin,  and the warrior veteran Josh Johnson, coming off a 3rd operation, but who is resolute he can be the pitcher he used to be in Miami, a couple of years back.  Some of them will likely make it back.
 
In the midst of all this summer heat, and the constant frustration of a losing team, we always seem to get to August, with some type of winning streak, that makes you think ‘next year’ might be a good year.
 
As dreadful as the Padres have hit, at one point with a team batting average of (.214), good pitching keeps you in games.  And since the All Star break, some have started to hit, and close losses have now become close victories.  San Diego is (14-8) since the break.  Some turnaround for a team that was within a half game of last place a month ago.
 
This will be a critical off season to add select bats to backup this good pitching.  The Tyson Ross’s of the world have only so many bullets in the gun, on those arms.  Might there be sunshine here next year, if the pitching grows more, and somebody who can hit, arrives?
 
Looking thru the marine layer of fog, looking for a beacon in the batting order to make it a good season, not just some decent finish to another losing season.

 

NASCAR Nightmare

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It has been a horrifying 48-hours in NASCAR racing.
 
Tony Stewart, the heavy footed-hot head superstar, is dealing with the emotional trauma of killing another driver, Saturday night, in a dirt track sprint car race outside of Rochester, the day before he was supposed to race at Watkins Glen.
 
Stewart, as fierce a competitor as any of the so-called Good Old Boys, races all the time, not just on the big money NASCAR sprint cup circuit, but also on dirt tracks around the country.  He is heavily involved as a part owner of some tracks, and gives back to the roots of the sport from where he came.
 
Saturday night saw him in a tire-to-tire battle for first place at Canandaigua Speedway.  He touched wheels with young driver Kevin Ward, spinning his car into the outer wall.  As the caution came out, Ward came out of his car, walked into the middle of the track as to confront Stewart while the yellow caution was out.
 
Cars were not doing their 120 miles an hour under yellow, but rather 50.  As Ward shook his fist at the cars coming around, he was nearly hit by one car-which veered left.  Stewart trailing right behind, veered right, and clipped the 20-year old driver under his back wheels,  flipping him 50-feet into the air. 
 
Stewart’s high powered engine was heard to rev just before contact was made. 
 
No one knows if Stewart did that to take a run at Ward; did that to try and pull out of his path.  But as he revved, the back end spun and the rear tire caught Ward.
 
Stewart was devastated at the impact, and pulled up to the wall, knowing what happened.
 
Race car drivers are the ultimate macho breed.  The speed, the daring, the danger is all part of their DNA.
 
Stewart is the ultimate marathon man, a racing junkie.  A year ago he caused a 15 car wreck at the same track.  Last summer he shattered his leg in a horrific flip in another dirt car accident.
 
Stewart has been a big winner of the circuit; he’s also been involved in big wreck, and big temper tantrum issues.  He also gives enormous amounts of money to charity work, in addition to giving back to all the tracks that help young drivers grow the sport they love.
 
Ward had developed a fast-guy reputation in just three years.  He might have been the next Tony Stewart, racing and acting on the edge..  
 
But on this sad night, he died doing something stupid-going on the track to confront a driver who had clipped him.
 
Stewart will not be charged by police for the ‘racing accident’ but you have to believe he will be scarred for life by it.

Chargers Win

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It might have been a meaningless game in the standings, but it meant alot in terms of evaluating talent, that (27-7) trashing of America’s team last night..
 
The Chargers offense went up and down the field with the ball, hitting big play after big play, to serve notice how dynamic and diverse they are.
 
The Bolts defense has alot of work to do, and still seems to be the weak link it was last year, eventhough the team got to the postseason and won a playoff game.
 
They beatdown a bad Dallas Cowboys defense last night, a team missing what few quality veterans they had on what was a 32nd ranked unit from a year ago.  Injuries and inept are the two words to describe what Dallas puts on the field now.  Dangerous and dynamic describes San Diego’s offense, after they put up (395Y) in offense..
 
But preseason games are all about grading individual talent and their assignments, and a number of newcomers really stood out.
 
CFL-import wide receiver Donnie Inman caught passes short, went deep for a 70-yard score, and blocked out people on big catches and runs.
 
Brandon Oliver, from the University of Buffalo, looking like, and wearing Darren Sproles number, was a force running up and inside, and to the edge too, and now merits a much longer look.  Tough as a block of cement.
 
Colts free agent acquisition running back Donald Brown ran hard, and ran quick in a second period series or two, and is truly a quality added ingredient.
 
And second year wide body defensive tackle Kwame Gaethers merits more time now, clogging up the middle and showing some burst for someone north of 335-pounds.
 
Philip Rivers was typically good; the lst team unit caught balls, as did young developing tight end Ladarius Green.
 
Of course the film sessions will show how really poor the Chargers defensive front was against the run when it was starters vs starters.  And it will show there is a lot of work to be done by cornerback Stevie Williams, safety Darrell Stuckey and others in the secondary.
 
There was no sighting of Manti Te’o making any defensive plays, and safety Jaleel Addae got hit with a penalty and got beat on passes too.
 
But for a coming out opening preseason game, it was a strong offensive showing, and new people now will get longer deeper looks.
 
If I’m a Bolt fan, be happy with the explosiveness of the offense, but be worried, this defense, with lots of starters back didn’t do so well.
 
If you’re a Cowboys fan, they may not be a playoff team again, with virtually no talent on defense, and a quarterback coming off two back surgeries.
 
Mike McCoy and Tom Telesco are making great progress.  Jerry Jones’ franchise looks as if it’s headed in the wrong direction, again.