BGrey Blog

I recall reading a story several years ago about former Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger explaining why he always read the sports section of the newspaper first. Try as I might (or as Google might) I was unable to unearth the exact quote, but paraphrasing Burger, he said he read the sports section first because it was always full of good news and highlighted the positive achievements of mankind.

Well, Mr. Burger passed away in 1995, and it is probably right around that time that the sports section of your local or national paper ceased as a repository solely of good news and stories of human achievement. Today’s sports section has plenty of stories about bad actors (that’s you Mr. Bonds) who have been taking column inches and words away from stories that make you feel good about sports.

Now that all said, I still start my way through the Sunday NY Times with the “SportsSunday” section. And today, I decided to read it with an eye towards what lessons can come from all stories — whether they be the kind Chief Justice Burger was referring to or not. Here are a couple that made me think about more than just sports:

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AND TALENT

Harvey Araton’s piece about the New England Patriots quarterback drama between their long-time hero — but current injured star — Tom Brady and the relatively young guy Matt Cassell who finally got snaps this past season — and by December had become the hottest QB in the NFL — highlights how fickle picking talent in sports can be. The Patriots have made Cassell their “franchise” player and are poised to pay the guy about $6M more this coming season than Brady, even though Cassell may end up back on the bench.

And that’s the amazing lesson here. What talent did Bill Belichick see in Cassell in 2005 when he drafted the guy in the 7th round (one round later than Brady was drafted by the Patriots a few years before) after Cassell had spent five years sitting on the bench at USC behind Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart? Come on, Cassell hadn’t played in an actual game since December of 1999, his final game as a high school senior. Cassell’s ascent to become a top tier NFL QB is not only a testament to his perseverance but also to the phenomenal eye for talent that Belichick and his Patriot staff demonstrate time and time again.

Now how the Patriots navigate the salary cap with two highly paid QBs is a totally different story.

HANK AARON — THE BEST EVER

The all-time homerun king turned 75 years old this week. It’s nice to see that stories can still be written about true sports heroes even when cheaters who broke their records are talked about in stories on page 1 of the same section.

The first book I remember ever reading from cover to cover (not counting “See Pug Run” and other first grade favorites) was the book “Hammerin Hank of the Braves”. I still remember the narrative about Aaron’s upbringing in Mobile, Alabama and the descriptions of his “whip like” wrists as a young hitter. A lot of other guys get labeled as the greatest player of all time (Mays, Mantle, Williams, Ruth, Dimaggio, etc.), but to me Aaron is THE guy you’d want to pencil in as your #3 hitter everyday if you had one pick. Compare Aaron’s stats over 23 seasons to Mays’s stats over 22 seasons.

Aaron is the greatest baseball player of all time — it’s too bad he doesn’t get more air time.

MICHAEL PHELPS AND REEFER MADNESS

This is the type of story that probably didn’t show up much in Warren Burger’s sports sections: Phelps caught in the act working a bong like it was a saxophone. And the Times had plenty of readers write in to complain about Phelps’ actions and how he appeared to come across as an insincere athlete looking to keep is image intact in the name of his corporate sponsors. One mom went so far as to say: “I am a mother of four, ages 4, 7, 9 and 12, and a stepmother to five, ages 11, 14, 17, 19 and 21. How do parents respond when our children say, ‘If Michael Phelps smokes pot, why can’t we?’”.

Well, first off, nice to see Carol Brady has got free time to surf the Internet to see pictures of Phelps toking — or maybe she caught it on her local news or “Inside Edition”? I am guessing a couple of those step kids in the 17-21 year old range have already made their decision about pot smoking?

Perhaps a better line of questioning would take this reader’s concern and broaden it a bit. What would her reaction be if the picture was of Phelps at a party drinking a Bud Light or one of those sassy flavored distilled spirit beverages from a reputable firm like Smirnoff? And let’s suppose for a minute that Phelps had a sponsorship deal with say Budweiser or Smirnoff (maybe both!)? Heck, forget him having a sponsorship deal, let’s just talk about the fact that the lady’s kids watched the Super Bowl last Sunday where they saw plenty of Budweiser ads and the fact that everytime they enter a sports stadium they see beer and liquor ads of some kind (either as stadium signage, on the jumbotron or in the game program).

Dare I suggest that alcohol abuse has done more socio and economic damage to the lives of people – young and old – than smoking pot? I can’t say for sure, but it’s worth spending some time thinking about the question now that Mr. Phelps has been caught at a party with his Speedo down so to speak.

MANNY AND SCOTTY

And then there’s the Manny Ramirez drama. He turns down a one-year, $25 million deal to stay with the Dodgers — and we’re all left breathless as to whether Ned Colletti will blink before Scott Boras, Manny’s agent.

Listen, in these times it is reprehensible to imagine anyone saying that $25 million a year is not enough, particularly in light of January’s employment report. On the other hand, you could argue that this is capitalism at it’s best — good old supply and demand at work — and may the best negotiator win.

What gets me though is Boras’s quote in the Times article: “This [Ramirez] is not someone you add to your payroll…this is someone who pays for himself”. Ok, so the other 24 guys on the roster are just operating expense, pure and simple — Manny is the only guy who generates revenue? Should be a fun clubhouse wherever Manny ends up. But let’s go with Scotty on this one for a second. How about we agree that Manny is so valuable he pays for himself. Let’s see him sign up for an incentive laden contract based on a percentage of the Dodger’s gate receipts (above of course the baseline they were traveling on before Ramirez showed up last July).

I’d love to see a contract like this. Many gets X% of the Dodger’s revenue above a baseline level – stadium and merchandise revenue only, TV dollars are locked in for awhile yet — and we could really see Manny “pay for himself”. Of course, what happens when the Dodgers fall out of contention after the All-Star break and Manny starts mailing it in. Should the contract require that Manny and Scotty pay the Dodgers the same percentage below the agreed upon baseline?

Yes, I’ll keep starting my Sunday with the sports section — seemed to work well for Chief Justice Burger!