John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thinking out loud…while wondering how Wimbledon has fallen off my personal summer sports radar…
• If you’re like me, you’re wondering how the off-season for college hoops – or any other sport, for that matter – seems to get shorter every year…and why we seem to hang on the edge of our seats for every little morsel of information we can get. Here’s why: Twitter.
• As Twitter has evolved into a social media gorilla, more pressure has developed for media to be “on top” of stories. Twitter’s immediacy is relentless – once a “Tweet” is out there, it’s out there. Media has always been charged with getting a story first, even if it’s not entirely right. Kids and athletes see that, and enjoy having the power that comes with that immediacy. It’s hard to keep up with it all…hard for fans, hard for coaches, hard for media…and who really knows what the truth may be? The lines between truth and fiction have never been blurred like this before…
• Just a thought…but I try to treat “Tweets” like I do a message board, or a sports talk show. Many are just opinions…and you know opinions are like belly-buttons – everybody has one. I can choose to follow who I believe might be most entertaining, or informational. But when it comes to getting the facts on a story, and getting them right, I’ll be sticking with people I know – and trust. Not some blowhard from Cranston who claims he knows a guy who knows a guy…
• Then again, as Pete Gillen used to tell me all the time…even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then…
• Put yourself in Kris Dunn’s shoes for a moment. You’re a high school senior; you’re one of the best players at your position in the country. People want to be you – or be near you – all the time. You have the chance to live a dream and be a McDonald’s all-American, and try out for Team USA, and BOOM! – you hurt your shoulder. What would you do? Try to play through it, like you’ve been trained to do for your entire athletic life, and still get to experience these one-in-a-lifetime opportunities…or tell someone about the shoulder and undergo surgery…ending your dreams, at least temporarily?
• If Dunn is out for an extended period of time, as various reports have indicated this week…at least they have a senior all-Big East point guard to run the show in Vincent Council. That should take a little sting out of Dunn’s disappointment. Depth may suffer, true…but not overall talent. Successful teams in the Big East have talented, “experienced” guards…
• Know what I can’t wait for? 2013 and 2014. PC’s talent base should be among the best in the Big East. URI will have had a year or two under the Hurley’s’ tutelage, and Dan’s players should be HIS. Mike Martin gets a chance to show his stuff at Brown. And the senior coach of the four D-1 schools in RI, Bryant’s Tim O’Shea, should have his best team in Smithfield…capable of winning in the NEC…
• Thoughts on the Big East basketball schedule released this week…in addition to a mid-winter trip to South Florida (which is never a bad thing), PC received home-and-away games with Syracuse (like last year), Seton Hall, Villanova and UConn. Which tells me UConn is probably considered a bottom-tier team…or the Friars were handed a doozy of a schedule by the league…
• Here’s a deadline worth watching - Boise State has not yet withdrawn from the Mountain West Conference. They must do so by today (Saturday, June 30) without having to pay additional financial penalties should it go ahead with its move to the Big East for football. As it stands, the Broncos’ program must forfeit $2.5 million in future revenue if it gives one year's notice of its withdrawal to the Mountain West before Saturday. If Boise State formally withdraws after June 30, that financial penalty grows to at least $7.5 million…
• Congratulations to former PC assistant coach, Bryant athletic director and now-former Big East associate commissioner Dan Gavitt, who has been hired as Vice President in charge of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Gavitt’s primary duties within the Big East have been to oversee men’s basketball and deal with coaches and administrators…which undoubtedly prepared him well for running the best tournament on the planet…
• Forget low APR’s and academically-fueled probation…UConn gets to tip off the 2012-13 season in Germany, of all places. The Huskies and Michigan State will start the year on November 9th at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, home of the US Air Forces in Europe…
• I really like the Celtics’ two first-round selections in the NBA Draft. Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger may or may not have a back problem…but he is a high first-round talent – a great rebounder – who slipped because of injury questions. Low-risk, high-reward. As for Syracuse’s Fab Melo, he’s a shot-blocker (Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2011-12) who continues to develop and improve as a player. Boston needed size and rebounding…and looks to have addressed both needs. The second round pick up of SU’s Kris Joseph, who was the pre-season POY in the Big East last year…is gravy…
• As non-believable as Roger Clemens may have been in his perjury trial, a juror told the Associated Press this week that the prosecutions’ star witness – trainer Brian McNamee – lacked “truthfulness.” He kept his alleged evidence in a beer can, and his story changed over time. So it came down to which man was the liar…Clemens or McNamee? They chose McNamee…
• Stupid is as stupid does…what could they possibly be thinking in the UK? The world’s stage for the Olympics in the coming weeks, the British soccer team has decided that superstar David Beckham isn’t good enough to make their Olympic squad. Don’t they know this isn’t about winning – it’s about ratings! It’s about showcasing. It’s about selling jerseys and hats and trinkets and proclaiming “look at us, aren’t we special!”
• Although, it’s clear the Brits won style points during the Revolutionary War. I mean, those Red Coats were sharp. Maybe they lost because they had too many Beckham’s with bayonets? Just sayin’…
• Love, love, love the Summer Olympics. I had the privilege of working for the Los Angeles Olympic Committee in 1984, the year widely acclaimed as changing the modern Olympic movement forever as a marketing juggernaut. Carl Lewis and Edwin Moses dominated in track and field, Mary Lou Retton wowed us in gymnastics, Evander Holyfield was robbed in the boxing ring, and the Olympic basketball team had Patrick Ewing, Michael Jordan and Chris Mullin whipping the Spaniards…as collegians. The fact that Rhode Islanders have a local athlete in North Kingstown swimmer Elizabeth Beisel to follow and root for should only add to the anticipation and enjoyment…
• But can someone explain exactly WHY the US Olympic Committee is flipping a coin to decide a dead heat finish in the women’s track & field 100 meters? Why is this even an option? Put ‘em on the track again, and fire the pistol! Has political correctness gone completely whacko?
• Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft is advancing his team’s game against St. Louis in London this season, and told SkySports he thinks the time is right for an NFL franchise to be placed there. Until such a time, look for the Pats to be in the discussion in future overseas scheduling…
• Remember when the Red Sox blew that nine-run lead to the Yankees back in April, and lost 15-9? If you haven’t completely blotted that from your memory…it does seem like a long time ago, doesn’t it?
• Before you’re ready to jump back onto the bandwagon with both feet…consider the lack of depth in the rotation, if not the bullpen. Clay Buchholz’ illness was downright scary. But the patchwork pitching is holding together long enough for the hitting to come around…and Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford will return soon. Can you be optimistic? Of course…if you’re a Sox fan. But you can also be blinded by the light at the end of the tunnel…of the oncoming train…
• The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich were way off base for “criticizing” a Buchholz’ appearance at a previously scheduled charity event with a “teaser tweet” for their talk show, when his teammates were traveling westward. Really? Honoring a previous commitment is a bad thing? And you wonder why David Ortiz said a week ago Boston was the getting back to the same (bleep) hole it used to be. Positive stories don’t play well in some circles…
• Who should get the credit for the Red Sox resurgence? David Ortiz? Will Middlebrooks? Pedroia or Gonzalez? Or perhaps Bobby Valentine for keeping it all together, mixing and matching pieces of this puzzle…
• First CC Sabathia…then Andy Pettite…going on the disabled list. Don’t worry, the Yankees should still be the Yankees…YAWN…
• I thought less was more? A little nugget for football fans on the upcoming NFL TV schedule…4:15 kickoffs for nationally televised games on CBS and Fox are moving to 4:25, so you won’t miss the end of a 1:00 pm game to receive the kickoff for home team. This will affect two New England games, pushing back kick-offs against Denver and the NY Jets at Gillette. In this case, maybe more IS more…
• Speaking of less is more…not for nuthin’…but maybe if people listened to themselves more often, they would talk less. Or Tweet less…
• And I’m reminded of a favorite quote from Abigail Van Buren: “The less you talk, the more you’re listened to…”
• Methinks Ms. Van Buren did not anticipate a beast like Twitter coming into our consciousness…
• My buddy Statbeast sez he told Mrs. Statbeast that men only use about 2200 words per day, while women use 4400. She replied it’s because women have to repeat everything they say to their husbands. To which he answered “sorry, what did you say?”
• You can expect the talk of student-athlete stipends to gain momentum…if college football moves ahead with its new playoff plan. Either that or some group of players will test the limits of greed within the NCAA and sue the pants off of the powers-that-be for a good chunk of that new change…
• Here’s a concussion story not yet considered – as a defense for a criminal act. Former Patriot defensive back and Notre Dame assistant coach Corwin Brown plead guilty but mentally ill to charges of illegal confinement and domestic battery against his wife last summer. Brown’s family says his actions, which led to a seven-hour standoff with police, might have come from head trauma suffered while playing in the NFL…
• The excess of riches continue in pro sports, as Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby becomes the latest addition to the roster of nine-figure athletes. Crosby’s new deal finalized this week will pay him a reported $104 million over 12 years. Where does this money keep coming from? You know the answer…
• Providence’s La Salle Academy has been named one of the 10 best high school athletic programs in the United States in CBS Sports.com and MaxPreps’ inaugural ranking of the top programs in the country. That’s quite the accomplishment. But I’m wondering if Warwick’s Bishop Hendricken shouldn’t be in there somewhere…since it seems like they’re always beating LaSalle…
• My sports consciousness grew up in the age of Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova dominating every summer at Wimbledon. Ilie Nastase flipped off line judges. McEnroe threw tantrums. Connors threw racquets. And the championship seemed to always come down to Borg and Navratilova, and whether anyone could knock them off. It was must-see TV. Wimbledon, for all of its tradition, has long lost its fastball in the public eye because the rivalries have disappeared. Bring those back…and bring back a little of that McEnroe-Nastase nastiness…interest picks up again…
• Our mailbag question/comment this week comes from Kirk in Miami via Facebook: “Will LeBron win another championship? Or two…or three…or four…or five, six, seven…” Kirk: Quit being a front-runner! No one likes that…especially you. But to your question, sure…he could win another one or two…but in this day and age, I’m not certain our dynastic standards can live up to the powerhouses of our youth…like those of the Celtics, the Packers and yes, the Yankees. Bigger, stronger and faster athletes usually mean more injuries, and more money…and less of an ability to keep teams together with salary caps. It’s the evolution of athletes and athletics in general, and it ain’t goin’ back…
• Interested in having your questions on local RI sports (including the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? Send ‘em to me! It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions and comments to jrooke@golocalprov.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @jrooke0722…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
• And you’re up early anyway…don’t forget to join us for GoLocal Sports on 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am! Call in (401) 737-1287, or text 850850…and send email to the show - golocal@weei.com .
Comments:
Sean McNamara
9:21am on Saturday, June 30, 2012
I'm sure LaSalle's ranking takes girl's athletics into account; as well as their recent invenstment in upgrading facilities. Any word on Billy Baron's landing spot?
John Rooke
11:31am on Saturday, June 30, 2012
Sean - LaSalle's girl's teams are certainly powerhouses...and undoubtedly the catalyst behind the ranking. Facilities-wise, there isn't much better in the region than what they have on Academy Ave.
As for Baron, Scott and I mentioned on the GoLocal Show today that his landing spot may take awhile...but don't be surprised if PC is a serious contender. There is mutual, real interest. The key will be scholarship, or no? It'll probably come down to playing for his dad, or staying home.
nicholas messier
3:21pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
Sorry john I must disagree with your love of the picks of the Celtics. Like you said in the article the nba is getting bigger faster stronger, and we use our first round picks on slow lumbering below the basket players. If I learned anything from watching the finals is that small ball with super athletic players that can guard multiple positions is the way of the future. Perk was a non factor because Miami went small and he was to slow to guard James and not quick enough to guard Bosh or Battier.
John Rooke
3:47pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
Nicholas - you bring up good points. But you have to admit, the Celtics missed a physical presence in the post during the playoffs, and they were the WORST rebounding team in the league. They had to do something. Short of trading up - which they couldn't do - this is what they had left.
nicholas messier
4:05pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
I see your point John, but with Perry Jones and Festus Ezeli still on the board wouldn't that have been better? Just for the record I do know having this discussion about two picks in the twenty's of the NBA we are basically pulling at straws
John Rooke
5:34pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
Teams look for marketable qualities, so to speak. Does a player have NBA ability to score, defend or rebound? Sullinger does, Melo can defend (blocks). Those are definites. Sullinger has big questions, too...but overall was too good to pass up at 21. More question marks from the other two you mention to take them there...IMO.
E.J. Dunn
6:02pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
Good column, John.
That 4:15 p.m. game start that the NFL bumped to 4:25 once was a 4 p.m. game start. Oh, well.
pearl fanch
10:23am on Thursday, July 05, 2012
Any high schools that can recruit their players, should never be playing against public high schools. If Lasalle, Hendricken or Mt. St. Charles had to rely on players limited to their Providence, Warwick and Woonsocket locales, then they wouldn't fair any better than Mt. Pleasant, Warwick Vets or Woonsocket High school.
It's a joke, and everyone involved in high school sports knows it.