John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud

John Rooke - Thinking Out Loud

Thinking out loud…and wondering where the “madness” to celebrate the start of the season is?

• I’m not one for the celebratory locker rooms you see after teams clinch “something.” I prefer to send the message (and wish that my teams felt the same way) that I’ve “been there before.” But I understand why they do what they do. What’s hard to understand, is this…

• How about celebrating a rivalry? Yes, they take their football seriously in Texas. This actually happened after a recent high school football game in San Antonio at a local fast food chain restaurant. There may have been more food flying through the air, than footballs…

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• Brutal stat of the week – the New York Giants and Washington Redskins are both 0-3 to start an NFL season for the first time EVER in the history of the league. No gloating going on that I can see around here, but then again, Giants fans…karma is a what? A five letter word for female dog? Just sayin’…

• Look, I get the angst over the Patriots’ start to the season. No one expected the offense to sputter. But how about the defense? And I know it’s the Bills, Jets and Bucs…not exactly Alabama, Florida and Georgia. But it IS 3-and-oh. Better than the alternative, right Giants?

• Best team in New York? Rex Ryan is 36-31 as head coach of the J-E-T-S since taking over. Tom Coughlin has the EXACT same record as Giants head coach over the same time…

• Tweet of the Week I – from @DeeepThreat: “Patriots pass defense on 3rd down, 17-37 for 45.9%, 181 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT, 2 sacks, 4.9 YPA, 38.2 passer rating.” If you need interpretation, it’s all good…

• Those numbers also came against three quarterbacks ranked in the bottom half of the league in passer rating, one of them (Josh Freeman) rated 33rd. Out of 32 teams. Yup…

• Not that it will last…but the Pats’ “D” is allowing 11.3 points per game through three weeks. Bill Belichick’s BEST defensive scoring season was 2003, when they allowed 14.9 points per game. And oh yeah…so far, ZERO points have been scored on them in the 4th quarter…

• Not for nuthin’…but with three interceptions in the first three weeks, Aqib Talib certainly seems to be playing his way into a potential (potential, I said) new contract with the Patriots, doesn’t he? We know the Patriots have their own success barometer. What we don’t know is how they really read it…

• Former Patriots’ lineman Brian Holloway is embroiled in a bit of controversy. Holloway, a 3-time Pro Bowler who was taken by the Pats in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, took to social media to admonish and perhaps catch the 300+ teenaged culprits who trashed a house he owned in upstate New York. Parents of some of the kids caught on video threatened to sue him, saying he was ruining their chance at college, and so on. Six people have been arrested, however, TMZ is saying Holloway owes more than $1 million on the house, that it was already in disrepair, that he’s trying to raise the money to save the house from foreclosure with a website of his own…and neighbors claim the place was abandoned, anyway. Still doesn’t make what the kids did tolerable, does it? But a weird story, nevertheless…

• Where are the fans (and media) who actually wanted the Patriots to (gulp) bring back Randy Moss? Or actually bring in 39-year-old Terrell Owens? The rookie receivers aren’t all the way there, yet. But at least we can see the potential. The only potential after bringing in either of the two aforementioned former all-pros is the potential for disaster…

• The Patriots just missed playing against their third straight rookie QB to start the season last week against Tampa Bay. That’s because 6-7 rookie Mike Glennon now gets the nod for the Bucs under center after the team’s 0-3 start to the schedule…

• More than just a game…the Texas-Arkansas football game in 1969, also known as “The Big Shootout,” might not register with you for many reasons. Suffice to say, you may not have even been alive for what is still known as the first “Game of the Century” in college football, as #1 Texas played #2 Arkansas in the final game of the sport’s centennial season. But having watched a preview trailer of a documentary film recently produced about the game…the lead-up to it, the worldwide, life-changing events that coincide with it…the personalities and cultural influence involved with just a simple “game”…it’s an incredible, remarkable story. For one, it was the last “big time” game played by all-white teams. And I don’t mean jersey colors. It was also the first time television set up a de-facto championship game. The film provides a unique glimpse through the game into one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. And the music soundtrack rates an A+…

• ABC’s play-by-play announcer for the game was Chris Schenkel, who passed away in 2005 but used to ply his trade calling races at the Narragansett Park horse track straddling Pawtucket and East Providence many moons ago. Schenkel worked in Rhode Island radio after his discharge from the military following World War II, moonlighting at the old race track in the late ‘40’s before moving to New York to call Giants’ football games…

• Anyone notice some college football players this past week with “APU” written or emblazoned on part of their uniform appearance this past weekend? It stands for “All Players United.” The National Collegiate Players Association is an organization comprised of former and current athletes hoping to push for change within college athletics. Player safety and health are on their agenda. So is money. Solidarity among athletes in several sports is growing…and so is support…

• There are photo bombs, and photo bums. This would probably classify as the latter…as TV/movie stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher had some fun at the expense of Steelers’ owner Dan Rooney after Pittsburgh fell to 0-3 with a loss to Chicago last Monday. Kutcher is a Bears’ fan. I don’t know what Kunis really is…except classless…

• More plaudits for the PC hockey programs…the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll has Providence ranked 15th heading into the season…one of five Hockey East teams in the Top 15, and the Friars are 4th in the Hockey East pre-season poll. Bob Deraney’s women’s team also received votes as part of the women’s Top 10. The men open with 14th ranked Minnesota State on October 11th, the women are holding “Women’s Hockey Day” at the newly-renovated Schneider Arena from Noon-3 pm Sunday, Sept. 29, and face off with 8th ranked Mercyhurst on Oct. 12th…

• Want a hot name in football coaching circles? Try Kliff Kingsbury. The one-time Patriots’ QB was an offensive coordinator at Houston and Texas A&M in 2011 and 2012, where those teams went a combined 24-3. He’s now the head coach at his alma mater, Texas Tech, and the Red Raiders are off to a 4-0 start this year…

• Bud Selig has decided to step down in January 2015, as baseball commissioner. There’s a line in here somewhere, but I think I’ll just let it pass on by…like he should…

• Watching the MLB playoffs is a no-brainer…especially with the “home team” involved for the first time since ’09. Always makes things more interesting. But the NL playoffs are also a bit more intriguing…with Cincinnati reaching the post-season in back-to-back years for the first time since the “Big Red Machine” in ’75-’76 (they won the World Series both years, too) and Pittsburgh in for the first time in 21 years…

• Saw this tidbit from ESPN…the New York Yankees played in 166 playoff games and won five World Series titles since the Pirates last played in the postseason. Does this make you feel any better, Yankee fans?

• $305 million for Robinson Cano? Um, no thank you…

• But I’ll take as many of these guys as you can get me. A timeless baseball moment, to be sure, when the Sandman exited at Yankee Stadium for the final time Thursday night…

• Speaking of the Yankees…they held Mariano Rivera Bobblehead Night last Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. Only that there were no bobbleheads when the gates opened. It seems the shipment truck broke down in New Jersey, and didn’t arrive until midway through the game. Those fans who had vouchers to collect the souvenir then lined up, as the team requested…down the concourses…and missed the rest of the game. Maybe the front office knew exactly what they were doing? The Yankees lost to Tampa Bay 7-0…

• Hey, Carlos Gomez. Run the bases. Stupid is as stupid does…

• NCAA President Mark Emmert said this week he expects “a lot of change” to the governance structure of Division I athletics over the next year. And now for his next act, Emmert will also predict the sky is blue…

• What the NCAA really needs is for Emmert to just button his lip, and quietly go about his job of, well…governance. He did make a good point, however, when he told a group of DI faculty athletics representatives this week that public perception of his job as being like that of a league “commissioner” is just not the case. Agreed. He has more than 1000 schools to answer to within the NCAA, and creating consensus is very hard to do. Perhaps, however, he should consider being more like a pro commissioner, or a college conference commissioner…and wield some actual influence over the masses. Challenge the current structure. It’s called leadership…

• If George Washington had acted like Mark Emmert, we’d all still be British colonists…

• How good can an organization be, and how much good can they really do…if all they’re remembered for is epic failure? The Penn State scandal and stripped scholarships now being gradually restored…did they bow to public pressure or gain a conscience? Misconduct at Miami, and a botched investigation. Different rules applied to similar stories when it comes to transfers. Now, Houston Texans RB Arian Foster says he was paid while he was a player at Tennessee, and called the NCAA “a bully.” And, you have college athletes finally speaking out, via the “APU” branding on parts of their uniforms. This is some pickle…

• Two thoughts from the meeting of college athletic directors this week in Dallas. One, I understand why the majority still feel paying their athletes shouldn’t happen…and won’t happen. The value of a scholarship works upward of $250K at many big time schools. But they might be missing the point here. The money now brought in far surpasses the value of many scholarships. And two, Big 10 Commissioner Jim Delany is right – at the very least, it’s time for Division I football and basketball to follow the MLB model. If players can sign for the pro ranks right out of high school, fine. If they want to “professionalize” themselves, then go. If not, three years allows the athlete a chance to grow and improve…and ensures the school’s investment in that athlete. That’s fair…

• Business Insider had an interesting piece this week on the worth of a college football player, seeing as there is a freight train of momentum running toward the potential “paying” of these players. The formula they used to determine worth used the NFL's most recent collective bargaining agreement in which the players receive a minimum of 47% of all revenue, and then divide that value by the 85 scholarship players. University of Texas football players are #1, worth $578,000, as the school produces the most revenue. The same formula, applied to college hoop programs who rake in the most dough, showed Louisville’s basketball players were worth $1.63 million each to the university (50% revenue split with players in the NBA, divided by 13 scholarships). Football provides more aggregate revenue to schools, sure. But basketball players seem to be individually more valuable…a point around here on which we all pretty much can agree…

• My buddy “Big E” is happily remarried, but remembers all-too-well what his ex-wife thought of his worth. In the divorce arrangement, they split the house 50-50. She got the inside, he got the outside…

• Amazing…that Jeff Daniels, who won an Emmy this past week as Best Lead Actor in a drama series (as Will McAvoy on HBO’s The Newsroom) can simultaneously perform as a news anchor and an idiot (Harry Dunn) in “Dumb and Dumber 2” as the sequel begins filming almost 20 years after the original. Although, on second thought, “news anchor” and “idiot” sometimes do go together…

• This made me laugh, out loud (notice no use of the cliché “LOL” here)…former Pawsox radio man Dan Hoard got squashed by his color analyst Dave Lapham this past week, when the Bengals returned a fumble for a score against Green Bay. He handled it as well as it could be handled. Welcome to the club, Dan…

• Hard to argue against any kind of enthusiasm being shown. But as in all things in life, there’s a time and a place for everything. Just not in the middle of a broadcaster trying to do his job of broadcasting the game. Hey, even cheerleader routines at the game require a time out…

• You think the Patriots have injury problems? Yes, they do. But so does everyone else after just three weeks, it seems. As of midweek this past week, ACL/knee injuries numbered in the double digits…concussions had also hit double figures, literally knocking more than a dozen players out of action…more than 20 players were listed with hamstring injuries…and more than 30 players were out with foot and ankle ailments. Hope medical insurance premiums are paid up…

• Technology meets tradition? I suppose that’s one way to consider the sport of sailing, which got a huge boost in the perception department this week with Oracle USA’s winner-take-all, come-from-behind win over New Zealand to retain the America’s Cup off the San Francisco coastline. Down 8-1, claiming eight straight races to win 9-8? That’s a comeback for the ages…

• I used to race Sunfish sailboats, and know a few people who serve as crew on some larger racing boats…so I do not doubt the teamwork and effort of all involved. Two things get me about this year’s Cup races…one, Newporter Jerome Kirby was the only American actually on the American boat! And with major syndicates dominating this sport, big-time sailing is still little more than bored millionaires – and billionaires – engaged in an all too elitist pastime…

• Former URI star Lamar Odom broke his silence after weeks of rumor and innuendo about possible drug abuse, rehab and (Kardashian) family interventions. He admitted in a Tweet that he’s been going through a “dark time,” but that he only has himself to blame. Odom was arrested August 30th on suspicion of DUI. Sure hope he can find some peace…

• Needing to find a new home, the Big East women’s basketball tournament decided this week on Chicago, DePaul and the Allstate Arena for 2014, after the past 10 years had been spent at Hartford’s XL Center. Without UConn’s crowds and interest in women’s hoop, Chicago is as good a spot as any in the league, and Allstate, while outdated, has hosted several tournament games and events. First round games will be held on DePaul’s campus, while the remaining games will be played at Allstate. The semis and the finals will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1…

• The Celtics will do their “training” in Newport…and the Miami Heat will train in the Bahamas. The Lakers will play two pre-season games in China. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for the Travel Channel to cover these things?

• So I guess there’s a bit of a pissin’ match going on between Kevin Durant and Dwayne Wade? Durant says his OKC teammate, James Harden, belonged in the Top 10 of the recent Sports Illustrated list of best players, and should be there over Wade. Wade took to Instagram to let his feelings be known. Keep in mind that these two made a Gatorade commercial together. Seems to me the marketing geniuses in New York are working overtime to create this rivalry. Hey, anything to spice up early, usually boring NBA play is fine with me…

• Tweet of the Week II – from Scott Carter (@ScooterMcGooch): “Sick burn, Harrisonburg CVS. #LOLRedskins” Kudos to the marketing department for the Woonsocket-based pharmacy chain in Harrisonburg, VA, too…

• Where are they now? Former North Providence, CCRI and PC hoop star Ken McDonald has resurfaced in the coaching ranks. After his dismissal from Western Kentucky in the middle of the 2011-12 season, he had been coaching in the NBA’s D-League, returning to Austin where he once worked as an assistant at Texas under former Friar coach Rick Barnes. McDonald has been elevated to head coach of the Austin Toros, the San Antonio Spurs’ D-League affiliate…

• The start to the college basketball season is a bit different this year, to be sure. You’ll still find some of the “midnight madness” celebrations at many schools, but because rules have changed this year to allow teams to begin practicing 40 days before their opener…which is about right now…the celebrations and parties on campus don’t have quite as much significance as they used to, when teams ran out onto the floor at the stroke of midnight on the first day they could practice. Kinda “been there, done that.” Still, there will be madness this year…and television (Fox Sports 1) will be there for the hype at PC on October 25th, about a month after the team actually tipped it all off…

• From the mailbag this week – Richard from Cranston writes via Facebook, in regard to a posting from Bleacher Report ‘Ranking the Big East’s Best Arenas’: “What do coaching changes have to do with the Dunk as an arena? I’d prefer to hear a list from John.” Richard: Clearly, the Bleacher Report “reporter” has not been to several of the places he’s ranked, and sadly, it seems possible he hasn’t actually been in any of them. But that doesn’t keep bloggers from blogging, it just kills their credibility. While I haven’t yet broadcast from Xavier, Butler or Creighton – I’m definitely looking forward to it. And I will rank them all thereafter…experience counts for something...

• 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 [email protected]. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Follow me on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...

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• The recently released “Rhode Island Radio” from Arcadia Publishing is available for sale, and the book tells the story of the 91-year history of radio in our state through photographs, clippings and memories from many of the personalities who have graced our airwaves. If you’re in search of the gift that says “Rhode Island,” you’ve found it. Or, find it in local bookstores and online right here…