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Rules Of Thumb For Father’s Day
Authored by Jeff Risdon - 10th June, 2008 - 5:08 pm
With John Herrera standing to his right dressed in black and appearing not unlike an undertaker, Lane Kiffin sat down at the podium for Sunday's postgame news conference.
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This Father’s Day will be one of great mixed emotion for me. My wonderful son Layne is almost 3 and already has the trappings of a dominating defensive end, or power forward, or middle blocker for my fellow volleyball aficionados. My wife is pregnant with our second child, due in Sept. (Note to football fanatics: that’s what happens when you fool around at halftime of Week 16, so plan accordingly!), and that is just tremendously exciting.
But it will also be a sad day for me as it would have marked the 4-year anniversary of my adoption of a retired racing greyhound. My beloved Bodie had to be euthanized last week after suffering a Shaun Livingston-esque injury to his left hind leg, just one week short of spending 4 years as a cherished family member. Even though I don’t miss cleaning up the loose stool or the intense separation anxiety that led Bodie to all sorts of anguished mischief, he brought joy and vibrancy to everyone he met. Walks around the neighborhood and trips to the beach will never be the same.
Back to the football...
Thumbs Up: To the Oakland Raiders. Yes, Raider nation, you read that right: I’m openly complimenting your beleaguered team. Getting Darren McFadden signed early shows the team learned its lesson from the Jamarcus Russell fiasco of last summer. In fact, this is the first time the Raiders have signed their 1st round pick without the players sandwiching their pick (the 3rd and 5th picks in this case) being signed since 1998. Wow, proactivity from Al Davis. Maybe the Commitment to Excellence won’t be a cruel joke this year. I still think the team will go as far as young Russell can carry them, but few teams improved more this offseason than the silver and black.
To Michael Strahan, for going out on top. Far too many great ones hang on too long, trying to win one last time. Strahan wisely chose to retire after winning the Super Bowl. It’s not that the gap-toothed wonder didn’t have any more to offer, but I cannot imagine how disappointing it would be to follow up a triumphant Super Bowl championship season with an injury or missing the playoffs. Now and forever when fans think back about Michael Strahan, they will remember him as the leader of one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history and as a winner. That legacy is priceless, something not even his ex-wife can take from him.
Thumbs Down: To the NFL owners, for crying about financial hardship as their excuse for opting out of the collective bargaining agreement. Nobody is forcing you to pay exorbitant bonuses except yourselves, because you have steadfastly refused to guarantee contracts, and the NFLPA figured out the loopholes of bonus cash. According to the Sports Business Journal, the average NFL franchise value has increased some 36% over the last 8 years, which means the average owner has made nearly $200 million (some have made triple that) in return on investment without doing a thing. The NFL is the only pro sports league in the world where every single team makes money every single season, and with ticket prices going up every year and media contracts doing the same, that’s not going to change any time soon. Take a lesson from Enron and the subprime mortgage industry: Greed is not good, and when you treat those from whom you serve like ignorant sycophants, bad things happen to you.
To the NFL veterans, who complain about those exorbitant bonuses and contracts given to the rookies lucky enough to get drafted in the top 15 picks. Every single time the CBA gets negotiated, you have the ability to stop this madness, and every time you have failed to take action. Just like with the health care plight of retired players, far too many current players talk a good game but fail to put their money where their mouths are. You want to change the system? Tell Gene Upshaw the notion that those deals raise the overall salary level is flawed, and come up with a rookie wage scale that rewards performance not draft status. Trust me, the owners will gladly accept that token of good faith.
Thumbs Twiddling: For Matt Ryan, the new poster boy for those exorbitant rookie salaries. One the one hand, you just signed a contract worth $72 million over 6 years, with over $30 million guaranteed. That’s more money than your grandchildren can spend, unless former Falcons' hanger-on Evander Holyfield is your financial planner. Even most of your NFL peers can’t fathom that kind of payday, and therein lies the problem. Before you have taken one preseason snap, you are making more money than all but a handful of your peers, many of whom have spent a decade playing at a Pro Bowl level. It doesn’t help matters that the Falcons have already anointed you the franchise savior, certainly not behind that patchwork offensive line. Enjoy the money because you are going to pay for it with big hits, intense media scrutiny, and at least one season of ugly losses.
Thumbs Sucking: To Cedric Benson, for being a complete knucklehead. In my last column I scolded those who rushed to judgment on Benson for his boating while intoxicated arrest, trying to stand up for a guy I’ve often criticized for his on-field shortcomings. So much for giving him the benefit of the doubt. Benson was arrested over the weekend for DUI, and his Bears' career is now mercifully (for Bear fans) over. Even Benson’s own attorney admitted he was troubled by the incredibly stupid decision of his client. One of my favorite sayings is, “When you’re in a hole, stop digging”. Put the shovel down, Ced, and maybe try tea-totaling for a while.
To preseason NCAA rankings. I know all the publishers and editors need the presumptive meat to chew for headlines and excitement, but the preseason ratings wind up hurting the game. Take Missouri as an example. Last season nobody foresaw them being a legit top 10 team, and because of that they got screwed out of a BCS Bowl. The mountain they had to climb from being unrated last August was too great. Meanwhile preseason top 10 teams California and Louisville barely qualified for the lowest bowl games. I have a pretty good idea of whom is going to be in all the BCS Bowl games right now, but I’m sure as heck not going to form steadfast opinions or poison perceptions of those teams until I’ve seen them play at least two conference games. There should be no rankings before Oct. 15th, and you won’t see any from me before then. Try your best to ignore the speculation in all those magazines out already because they often look quite foolish by the end of September.
