The Knights after the Storm

It is a storm out there for our President. He has the Democrats protesting his every move and many of those moves are quite protestable. He has his own party sheltering themselves from him to secure their mid-term elections, the first since the Donald stormed DC. Many of these tempests are simply ignored by Herr Trump. When confronted with tough questions, he tweets them away with obfuscation. Then came Stormy Daniels, the storm no one wants.

 There is no doubt there were some hijinks between private citizen Trump and the porn actor. Her 60 minutes story was a marketing ploy to continue her rolling fifteen minutes of fame. Ms. Daniels has been at this game for a long time and at 39, she is in the tumbling downside of her career. The Yard would never defend Trump but the accuser and her attorney are not trying to enlighten America. Stormy is touring the country stripping in any nook and cranny for those that would pay $10 to see her nooks and crannies. Her attorney, Michael Avenatti, comes across as a noble reptile trying to promote judicial ethics like a modern day Mark Geragos. He has multiple lawsuits against him since his investment firm acquired Tully’s Coffee in 2013 among other notable mischief. All of it is a sideshow where the Donald is much more worried about Melania’s wrath than the citizens of the US. She checked herself into the hospital to get away from Trump.

In the wake of the Storm of Daniels, came Former FBI Director James Comey and his book A Higher Loyalty reportedly exposing the new President in his early days in office. Comey comes across as articulate, candid and sharp. The Yard is trying to determine who named the fired FBI director as the harbinger of our moral compass. This is the same James Comey who has lead the FBI to its lowest levels of morale and national perception in the 110 year history of the Bureau. J. Edgar is turning in his cocktail dress. Comey loves the attention and lives large, all 6’8” of him. This book gets Lurch back into the spotlight and a $2 million payout to enhance his multi-million dollar lifestyle. He lives in a $3 million home he acquired while earning $172,000 annually as the FBI director. Being legal counsel for a hedge fund paid well before Barry Obama called and asked him to lead the FBI in 2011. He is not the dilatant protector of the American people that he attempts to portray. The Yard does not look for Comey, Stormy Daniels or her legal shrew to illuminate the Trump administration for the nation. All three of them are profiting handsomely from their self-subscribed positions. The main thing that they have in common is the first four letters in the former Director’s name and the associated stain. There is probably not a happy ending for anyone.

USC assistant basketball coach Tony Bland was snared in the college basketball Adidas scandal. Head coach Andy Enfield claimed to have no knowledge Bland’s spurious actions. Andy seems like a standup guy but Bland’s actions definitely benefitted USC and Enfield by bringing in several top recruits in recent years. It is difficult to understand how such activities were going on with recruits without this smart and precise head coach’s knowledge. Coach Enfield has persevered and replaced Bland by hiring Eric Mobley. Mobley has coached in AAU ball the past eleven years with tremendous success. It is an interesting hire given USC’s current situation with potential NCAA violations. AAU is a largely unregulated basketball club sport for elite athletes before they enter college. Almost every major talent in the last 20 years has played AAU ball with other elite talents. AAU is the petri dish where the current college basketball scandals fermented. The shoe companies have unfettered access to the teams and the players. Agents are slithering around the perimeter using family intermediaries to negotiate while trying to ensure short-term college compliance…at least for one year. The Yard is not alleging that coach Mobley was involved in any of these improprieties but they have happened around him. USC highlighted his great success at the AAU level and how excited they are to have him join the Trojans. The press release goes on to mention that he is married with two children. The USC press release did not mention that his two children are 6’10” future recruits. There is nothing illegal or unethical about hiring a coach who is the father of two 6’10” talents. One might question hiring someone directly from AAU into the current college compliance maelstrom. Yard only hopes the NCAA is a little tougher on Pac-12 stalwarts Arizona and USC. The Bruins have a nice recruiting class who came for the college experience not the future shoe contract now. Bruins hoopsters wait at least until after winter quarter before risking their eligibility.

We can appreciate that USC has a lot going on with their athletics and Medical School at this time. The Yard was shocked to read that UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is making over $2 million a year more than USC head coach Clay Helton. Yard interns are searching furiously but cannot find a time where UCLA paid more and certainly not that much more for their respective football coaches. It does make sense on another level when the University begins to examine the financial calamity that will explode out of Dr. George Tyndall scandal. USC Medical was already on double secret probation after Dean Pulitano and his band of miscreants filmed themselves tweaking in his campus office. USC just watched Michigan State agree to pay $475 million in lawsuit payments in the Dr. Larry Nassar scandal. As in the Nassar scandal, allegations and complaints of serious violations of campus coeds had gone on for decades against the doctor. When the complaints finally gained traction with USC administration, Dr. Tyndall was allowed to resign with a severance package in June of 2017. Beyond the egregious nature of his alleged actions, he focused most of his attention on the growing influx of Asian students at the University. USC has gone to great lengths to promote the school overseas to foreign students. The good doctor ended up with a steady steam of young, naïve females who did not understand what happened in a gynecology exam. Dr. Tyndall gave them plenty of exposure and apparently took a few with his iPhone.

 In early April, I attended the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas. NAB is one of the largest shows of the year. I did plenty of meets and greets over the four days and I was shocked at how many people did not realize that Las Vegas had a hockey team. Questions ensued to determine what level of hockey our little team played. There were looks of disbelief when informed it was an NHL team that was entering the playoffs. How did this happen? Hockey in the desert? It will never work, look at Phoenix! Now most of the sports world knows about the Vegas Golden Knights who have stormed into the Stanley Cup Final. Some are saying it is one of the greatest Cinderella story in sports history. This is no Cinderella story although the clock could strike midnight without Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The Vegas Golden Knights was the vision, focus and execution of Bill Foley. Mr. Foley has been mentioned often in Yard posting and he should be applauded for the results. The team is far from done but what they have accomplished so far is historic for sure. Mr. Foley managed every detail starting with the team being the Vegas Golden Knights not the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The team name lead to logo that is now emblazoned all over the Vegas valley. Foley hired George McPhee to put together a team of unprotected players in the NHL expansion draft. The team built their training facility in Summerlin and incorporated a youth hockey program that is flourishing. The facility incorporated a restaurant and bar so fans could watch the team practice down below or on TV during their sold out games. They assembled a fast, athletic group of castoffs and have raced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. No one expected these results. The team went off as a 500:1 shot at winning the Cup. In late 2017, the Knights were still 80:1. Las Vegas is a town that a person can make those bets and many new hockey fans did take those bets. The Sports books are guardedly cheering the team even though their victory will be painful.

But before a single game was played in this remarkable season, Stephen Paddock gunned down fifty-eight people from a Mandalay suite just a few blocks away from the arena. The October 1st Route 91 Festival will forever be remembered for the horrific devastation wreaked over the adult fun capital of the nation. No one knew who the Golden Knights players were at this time. No one probably cared as the dead and dying were being counted. None of the players were from Las Vegas. They were unprotected expansion draftees exiled to the desert to play for a first year team. In the first days after this tragedy, Marc-Andre Fluery, William Karlsson and the rest of these unknown heroes, descended on the area hospitals to visit the over 400 people that were injured. The team set up photo and autograph kiosks around town where players helped the town begin to heal. First responders escorted each Knights player onto the ice during their first introductions to their new hometown on Opening night. Survivors were invited to join the ceremonial puck drop. Before the puck dropped, all 58 names of the killed were displayed on the ice in a tear soaked moment of silence with the 18,000 in attendance. Defenseman Erik Engelland addressed the crowd for exactly 58 seconds. The Star Spangled Banner was lead by victims and every voice in the house could be heard.

As the Knights started to emerge as a quality team regardless of their history, no one forgot their response in the beginning before there was a bandwagon to jump on. Las Vegas was a city of people mostly from somewhere else trying to unite and heal. The Golden Knights became the conductor of those signals. Professional sports are a byproduct of civilizations that have achieved enough wealth to pay the best so that we can watch them ply their craft. Mass shootings are another byproduct of the disenfranchised and delusional in these same societies. Sports at its best can help bring people together to overcome grief. The Yankees carried NY after 9/11 even if the Diamondbacks spoiled the party. New Orleans rallied around the Saints after Katrina. The Red Sox lead Bosox nation to a better place after the Marathon bombing. The Houston Astros carried the city during their World Series championship run last year after Hurricane Harvey. The Golden Knights had none of the historical equity with their chosen city as these franchises in those moments. They paid it forward. After the final home game this season, the team announced that they were retiring the number 58 for the rest of their history. They raised a banner to the rafters with the names of the victims surrounding the 58. A noble gesture and we sincerely hope it is not the last banner we raise this season.