Last year about this time, there were rumors circulating about a mysterious virus that was raising red flags in the far east. At the time, the college bowl season was over, the NBA was in full swing, the Super Bowl was in the can, March Madness dance tickets were punched, and MLB was in spring training bloom. It all seemed business as usual. We all know now it is a far different world than initially forecasted last year. The ravages of COVID have been relentless and documented with staggering efficacy. There was already enough calamity in the world without layering in a pandemic. The Maui Invitational NCAA hoops tournament was played in Asheville, North Carolina. WTF? The Masters was played in November without the azaleas of spring. Wimbledon was cancelled. The Rose Bowl game will be played in Arlington, TX. The reality of the absurdity of 2020 really hit home the other day. Breaking news that 48-year-old Manny Ramirez has signed to play for the Sydney Blue Sox in Australia for the upcoming season. Who knew that Manny World was still operating between the lines? Yard staff will be following Ramirez closely. We wonder if he has another $4,000 BBQ to sell on eBay.
There have been several notable passings during
the year of COVID. COVID mortality statistics have been considered
controversial with many aged and infirmed succumbing to the disease
eventually. The grim numbers regardless of underlying conditions are a
stark reminder that we are not in Kansas anymore Toto. 2020 saw the
passing of many iconic sports and entertainment heroes from Yard youth.
Two HOF NY pitchers passed in Tom Terrific Seaver and Whitey “Chairman of the
Board” Ford. Ford would pitch in 11 World Series with the Yankees
winning six. Seaver, the boy scout, would lead the much-maligned Met’s
franchise to two WS winning in historic fashion in 1969. Don Larson, pitcher of
the only Perfect Game in WS history took the dirt nap during 2020. Kobe
and Gianna Bryant were gone much too soon. Ken “Eddie Haskell” Osmond
died in May. Phyliss George, pioneering female sportscaster
perished. And just when it seemed we might escape through the wormhole
into 2021, Dawn Wells went down. Wells, as Mary Ann Summers, was a
wholesome farm girl from Kansas who won a trip on the ill-fated USS Minnow ride
to Gilligan’s Island. For prepubescent yard youth, Mary Ann and Ginger
were our first female heroes until the Brady Bunch girls showed up. Tina
Louise in her sultry evening gown and Mary Ann in her Daisy Dukes gracing each
episode with the same wardrobe were mesmerizing to a seven-year-old
Yardling. Dawn Wells was Miss Nevada in 1959 and landed on the Island
with Gilligan, the Skipper, too, the millionaire and his wife in 1964.
The show would only last 3 years on Network Television but forever in reruns
and our new streaming universe. Dawn, you will forever be missed.
Tina, now it is just you and me baby.
College Football is finally tottering towards the
January 11 College Football Playoff. It was a CFB season that was cancelled in
April, launched sporadically throughout the fall, and will finish surprisingly
with a classic championship game between two legendary football programs in
Alabama and Ohio State. The SEC and ACC were the first conferences to confirm
college football is more important than COVID protocols. College football is so
important in the Southeast because of its popularity and related TV revenue.
This visibility enhances recruiting and affirms their legend. Other conferences
were quick to follow as the SEC got out of the gate with games and some fans.
Make no mistake college football is more about the television revenue than the
careers of their student athletes. Universities have become dependent on
the TV dollars that come with college football. The disparity of play led
to Ohio State with a 6-0 record playing Clemson with a 10-1 record. Texas
A&M went 8-1 and beat some ranked opponents and did not make the
finals. The Buckeyes beat up an underwhelming Big-10 schedule and big
named their way into the CFB playoffs. They proved their worth in their
dismantling of Dabo Swinney's Clemson Tigers.
The inequity of the college football season was
revealed as each week progressed. Key games were rescheduled or
cancelled. The SEC played almost a full schedule as did the ACC.
The Big 10 and Pac 12 played a restricted calendar. Michigan was able to
pin blame on COVID to avoid the annual Ohio State beat down. Jim Harbaugh
has not beaten OSU in his tenure, and this was not going to be the year either.
He may never beat the Buckeyes. COVID exposed the non-parity of college
football. College basketball is far more equitable given the number of
competitive teams, the rise of Mid-majors and March Madness. College
Football is not the Big Five, it is the Big Two + 2: ACC, SEC, Ohio State and
Oklahoma. Notre Dame is trying to get in that group but so many nationally televised
beat downs by these same schools render the Irish interesting but not relevant.
Oklahoma and OSU have embraced the SEC attitudes regarding the priorities
of college athletics over college academics. Alabama’s bowl winnings are
not going to the math department. At Michigan and Purdue, some of those
dollars make it to math and engineering. USC is fooling themselves into
thinking that they are still part of that discussion. They are not and
the only people that did not get the memo are the alumni and Lori Laughlin.
University of Texas is in the same illusion pool. UT fired Tom Herman and
is paying him $15 million to go away. Steve Sarkisian is getting less,
and he should enjoy it while it lasts because it will not. Stevie will get a
lot less when he eventually goes away. Sark, Austin is not Tuscaloosa.
The Pac-12 is largely irrelevant in the
national discussion of college football. Under the current NCAA format
each D1 school has 85 scholarships. All the big schools fill all 85 with depth
and skill only dreamed about at UCLA and the NFL for that matter. UCLA
cannot even fill 85 scholarships let alone get depth and skill. NCAA
needs to limit the scholarships by 8-10 per school and put another 100-150 high
caliber athletes on the market for everyone else. Darth Saban does not
want to see that happen or the Crimson Tide faithful. They need to help
their brothers out for the good of the game long term.
OT: The last time the Rose Bowl was played outside
of Pasadena was 1942. In 1942, the US was afraid of a Japanese attack on
the West Coast following the attack on Pearl Harbor. The 102,000 at the
venerable Rose Bowl could be a prime target. Instead, the game was played
at Duke in North Carolina. It was weird. I watched the Rose Bowl
with my father for decades. Usually, it was just the two of us with Jo at
the Yard feeding us constantly from our supine positions. We went several times
to the game when UCLA had a football team in the 80’s. I am missing him this
year but dad it was weird watching that Rose Bowl game Friday in
Arlington. Indoors at Jerry World, no parade, no flyover, just a game and
not the best of those. Missing you but not the 2021 Rose Bowl.
Leaders in the Clubhouse: If there was an
eye in the Pandemastorm, it was the Dodgers and Lakers winning their first
titles in too long. It was exciting for LA fans everywhere, but these
monumental championships were almost invisible to the nation. There would
be no celebration, no parade, no visit to the White House. The White
House has not been so popular of late and Lebron would not have gone.
Karma Always Wins 2020 Edition: UNLV Basketball
Star Christian Wood was forecasted to be a top 15-20 pick in the 2015 NBA
draft. Wood was so excited about his NBA fortunes that he rented a room
at Caesar’s Palace and invited friends and family to watch the draft. As
the night progressed and Wood’s name was not called the mood in the room
dampened. Wood went undrafted, the girlfriend he dropped off at McCarron
ghosted him and he was destined to bounce around semi-pro basketball for
years. Last week, Wood’s perseverance earned him a three-year $41 million
deal with the Houston Rockets. Girlfriend has not been heard from…yet.
All the best to everyone in 2021 and maybe the
end of the reality show - 2020.
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