CBS, David Beckham, and the Hype Macine

I find it amazing the fake hype that sports fans allow themselves to swallow (no this isn’t about the BCS). Tonight two teams that worked hard to qualify for the NCAA tournament, fighting to win their conference tournament in order to take part in the inevitable slaughter versus one of the giants of college basketball were forced to travel to Dayton and play in a “1^st Round Game”.  All of this so four other teams that weren’t good enough to get in on their own can now, maybe, win a game. Even more depressing the games won’t even have the drama of the upcoming Belmont win over Wisconsin because people have heard of Clemson and it’s hard to call anyone from the ACC an underdog. (By the way I hope Clemson wins because I also picked them to beat West Virginia in the new 2^nd round)

Yet here we are listening to Jim Nantz and co. tell us how important this is and how fantastic and how egalitarian the tournament has suddenly become. That’s just bull…

There’s a reason that the brackets I filled out didn’t make me pick those games. No one cares other than those affiliated with the schools. You can’t tell me that having two 16 seeds battle it out in Ohio has meant a fairer or more interesting tournament. Congratulations on being the first ever 16 seed to win a game, you’re also the first to play an equally inconsequential team.

I don’t blame Jim Nantz for the line of crap we’ve been fed any more than I blame him for his fetish for Augusta National. Even he probably doesn’t see anything worth talking about tonight but CBS certainly isn’t about to let him say that on air. Hell, CBS put the games on TruTV, which demonstrates that the network doesn’t think the games are important enough to interrupt an episode of CSI. Yet, sports fans are force-fed this new set-up that only benefits the power conferences and told it’s for the greater good of the underdogs.

On a topic more relevant to the title of this blog, the same hype is being put forward for tonight’s opening game of the MLS season. For several reasons this is ridiculous.

One, the MLS regular season has been made an afterthought since the announcement of the 10 team playoffs to decide the MLS Cup champion. Who cares what happens on opening night when a team that goes on a little run in October will end up being the champion, regardless of whether the golden boy with all the tattoos lines up for one of the teams. When you make the regular season a cakewalk into the playoffs, why should we care about game one?

The second reason is even more crucial. Tonight is also the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals with the only remaining MLS representative, and possibly the best team in the league, trying to make history with a win against the Costa Ricans. Real Salt Lake versus Saprissa is where all MLS fans should have their attention turned and yet seemingly no mention of it has been made on the Worldwide Leader and only as an afterthought for Fox Soccer (which is airing the game with their clearly inferior production value).

I’m not a huge MLS fan but I have seen the improvements in the quality of the league and yet its best chance at regional and even worldwide prestige draws almost no coverage, while the league schedules its marquee opening night for the same time.

That marketing fail is almost as incomprehensible as CBS trying to hype up games by labeling them March Madness when they represent nothing more than souped-up NIT games. Of course if CBS actually knew what it was doing Jim Nantz could sit in the Butler Cabin all year round, Gus Johnson would call every game until his throat gives out, and they could figure out how the screen-in-screen works so we could see all the exciting endings as they happen without buying a subscription package.

Leave Brandon Davies Alone

When I heard about the Brandon Davies situation at BYU, I was conflicted. First impression was, “Wait a minute, he might kicked out of school for having sex with his girlfriend? What the hell?” I was immediately grateful that I never went to BYU or became a Mormon, despite the fact that Big Love is pretty entertaining. As I considered the (puritanical and archaic) honor code in Provo I was impressed by the school’s willingness to hold an athlete, and a star at that, to the same standards to which a regular student would be held.  While I would never accept those conditions on MY college life, the students at BYU willingly signed that pact. They knew what they were getting into.

Danny Ainge speaking on WEEI talked about the sex, drinking, and general hedonism that prevails while being recruited. He talked about everything short of being led to a room with two porn stars waiting in the bed, but then he wasn’t quite as good as Jesus Shuttleworth and probably didn’t have Rick Fox as his guide on campus. Then he talked about the scene at BYU that drew him to the school: a party with music, dancing, and root beer floats.

 Yeah, that’s right- Root Beer Floats…. Apparently they were having a Sock Hop.

Once again I’m thankful that BYU was not on my list of college choices. “Chaste” wasn’t the word that I was looking to see on my college applications.

BYU is the very definition of anachronistic but congratulations to them as an educational institution that they are willing to pass up a potential long run in the tournament to ensure that their honor code holds its significance. Somewhere Reno Mahe is nodding. Now, Jimmer Fredette needs to channel Wally Szczerbiak in order for the Cougars to be anything more than one and done, but that’s a price a school should be willing to take in order to uphold its standards. Even if I think those standards are ridiculous.

But, while the school should be praised for keeping its standards ahead of sporting glory, I’m tired of listening to these pundits moralize that they are thankful that the Brandon Davies situation will finally teach kids that there are consequences to their actions. To the WEEI personality that made that comment you do indeed sound like a clueless 50’s sitcom parent or Glenn Beck. Take your pick.

Brandon Davies is not an example of student-athletes having too much power. He had sex with his girlfriend. While this breaks the BYU honor code why should anyone else care? This wasn’t a groupie or a girl that popped up at a club so why should anyone else care? He didn’t steal laptops, give away his sportsmanship award for a tattoo, or receive $180,000 to go to school. He isn’t a coach screaming in a kids face, putting him in a choke hold, breaking recruiting rules all while making millions of dollars. Those are the issues that deserve our focus and condemnation.

There are countless problems in the NCAA and it’s time to focus on trying to fix the real issues that are corrupting college sports and leave Brandon Davies alone.

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