Buzzer Beaters [11/20/11]

last-second thoughts on recent sports ongoings

(just throwing 'em up there)

• I'm gonna ramble on about Penn State for a bit. Obviously, everything that's gone down at Penn State is utterly disgusting. The acts were disgusting, the organization's reactions to the acts were disgusting, and the students' reactions to the organization's reactions to the acts (phew) were disgusting. The children who were abused deserve all the sympathy and prayers and help in the world. But please, don't for one second think this isn't about sports. It is. True, an old, fucked-up man raping little boys has nothing to do with sports, and no, I don't think — at least I hope; who knows, in light of the new Syracuse scandal — that this is reflective of a hidden culture in college sports (However, I think it is indicative of collegiate sports's impulse to hide anything defamatory, regardless of severity.). Regardless, it is still about sports. You wouldn't have heard about this (alleged) rapist, much less know him by name if he wasn't coaching under one of the most revered figures in the history of college, ahem, sports. The fact is, kids get raped every day. It's a sick world. So if this instigates a spark in you to support the cause of child abuse, great. I hope you do. But don't act all surprised and offended when the first question that some sleezebag reporter asks after the scandal breaks the surface is, "Who's coaching on Saturday?"
• MIZ-SEC! My school is headed to the Southeastern Conference! As happy as I am for the move from many perspectives — we should get more money, more(ish) wins, and more exposure on the SEC's bigger stage — I'm still a little sad to be leaving the Big 12. Case in point: that "greatest game ever" LSU/Alabama matchup a couple weeks back. While Nos. 1 and 2 were going at it in a low-scoring, messy and, from most accounts, boring muckfest, Big 12-ers Oklahoma State and Kansas State were in the midst of a thrilling shootout. For some reason no one (cough, ESPN) wanted to admit the SEC game was a crappy game, and that the Cowboys/Wildcats match was really a perfect advertisement for Big 12 football. I know we need to escape the oppression of UT and, like I said, I like the move, but I'm really gonna miss those shootouts. (Though, to be fair, we haven't really fit the shootout mold since Chase Daniel graduated.) I'm also gonna miss that Mizzou/kU rivalry. I really hope the Jayhawks get over themselves and we can continue this century-old tradition.
• MIZ-DUI... Speaking of Missouri tradition... Well, maybe alcoholism is more of a St. Louis thing than a state-wide epidemic (we're "a drinking town with a baseball problem," as we like to say/proclaim via T-shirt), but that didn't stop Mizzou coach Gary Pinkel from getting behind the wheel after two "jumbo" glasses of wine. He got arrested and was suspended one game and up to $300,000. Whether or not that's enough — some have pointed out that he'll conveniently be back just in time for the "final" kU game — I think it's important that we don't let this event define Pinkel's career. It's insignificant (in regards to this scenario) that Pinkel has brought this program to a new level; wins and losses shouldn't have an impact on morality. What is significant is the off-the-field record Pinkel has had in his tenure at MU. Everything indicates he's been an enormously positive influence on the men he's coached, and I think that hints toward this being more of a lapse in judgment than Pinkel being a habitual screwup. That said, this was obviously a horrible lapse in judgment. It's pointless try to debate how drunk on a scale of sober-to-La Russa he was, because it's so arbitrary and impossible for us to determine how safe it was for him to drive — and considering he had been drinking, Pinkel was not in any decision to make that measurement either. In other words, he should have never gotten in the car after drinking any amount of alcohol, but I don't think we're exactly in the right to stick him in the same category of Leonard Little (damn, STL's an alcoholic little city), especially after his stellar career to this point.
• After watching the pilot about 12 times, I'm finally tearing through Friday Night Lights on Netflix. It's supposed to be really, really good. And so far it is really, really good. But to be honest, I'd watch Vampire Diaries every week if Minka Kelly was on it.
• Congrats to Mike Matheny on his new job as Cardinals manager. I like the hire, because I think it hints at the team re-signing Albert Pujols. 1) As much as everyone wanted to shove down your throat how good a friend Albert is with José Oquendo, Albert is also really good friends with former teammate Matheny, so this hire should look good in his eyes. And 2) They're not gonna have to pay Mike as much (yet) as they would a Terry Francona, and when you're trying to tie down the best free agent on the market, every dollar helps. I also like the hire, because I like Matheny. He was a fantastic defensive catcher with a great mind for the game (like many catchers). He comes imbued with the sense of Cardinals tradition, and coming off a NL-best 11th World Series title, STL fans will expect nothing less than a continuation of that tradition.
• Fuck lockouts. I thought we were all done with this stuff once the NFL got their ish together. But apparently not. Now, I don't know all the details in this scenario (from what I hear, NBA owners are being a lot less just as, if not more assholish than NFL owners were), but I'm sure gonna miss having an NBA season. Now, I can't say I've always paid a whole lot of attention to pro basketball during the regular season. But I've always loved watching the Finals, and living across the hall from a diehard Bulls fan last year really got me in the spirit for NBA all season. It's gonna be a shame to miss out on a season of D-Rose in his prime, and it would've been fun to watch LeBron try to rebound after the Finals debacle. Get ready to watch a lot of NCAA hoops, folks.