Who Do We Think We Are?

I recently came across a New York Times piece entitled, “Is Cheating Good For Sports?” It got me to think about cheating and values. This is a topic that means a lot to me in my work life.

Obviously, most of us are taught that cheating is bad. And most of us know that there will be consequences if we’re caught. So why is it that cheating has become so prevalent?

I did a search on the word cheating and it brought up 43,700,000 hits on Google. There are books (The Cheating Culture), research papers (Cheating In College Athletics), and ESPN has a section of its website devoted to the topic of cheating. The volume of information and reporting on cheating is mind boggling.

We often find it funny when cheating affects others. I’ll admit I found this radio station prank gone bad on YouTube hilarious. Have we become desensitized to the point that we’re not only accepting cheating, but beginning to like it? Or want it?

I recognize that athletes are under tremendous pressure to perform. And a bad day at the office for me doesn’t get broadcast to millions of homes. As a fan, should I hold them to the same standard I live by? Or should I expect, as Robert Byrne so eloquently put it that, “In order to preserve your self-respect, it is sometimes necessary to lie and cheat.”

Several years ago, I began to lose interest in professional sports. That was partially because of the player’s antics, which included cheating. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t see some negative press on a pro team, player or coach.

So, my refuge has been college sports. I know college sports aren’t completely without sin. But it does seem to be better regulated and managed. Am I fooling myself?

For a long time, I believed that college players should be paid a salary for playing. They risk injury every time they play. Only a few select players will find themselves making a living at the sport after college. Paying them always seemed like the fair thing to do and would create more transparency. Now, I’m not so sure.

I want college athletics to be pure.  I don’t love cheaters, but in a sense, I accept that there will be some cheating.  In the end, I want to know that cheaters will pay the consequences when they’re caught.  And I hope that that consequence serves as an example for others.

Mostly, I want to know that Southern Miss is pure.  We should have zero tolerance in that regard.  I trust that Richard Gianinni and the coaches will keep the target high.  Not only on the field, but across the board.

With the release of the Southern Miss 2008 football Schedule, the traditional media outlets (Sun Herald Article) and the message boards (EaglePost.Net) have been buzzing with talk of 12 Saturday games. As many of you know, C-USA teams play weeknight games regularly as this affords us the opportunity to play on TV to a national audience. And earn the royalty check from ESPN.

ESPN doesn’t respect C-USA, but we are a cost effective filler in between the games that matter. My guess is the ratings rank somewhere between the third airing of Sportscenter and bowling. Because, like ESPN, most of the nation is just as BCS-centric. In the bars and pubs where the game is playing, very few people are actually watching the game (or care about the results).

To be fair, it is national exposure. It makes for an exciting departure for the standard Tuesday night (kinda like when mom surprises you on meatloaf night by ordering a pizza). Frankly, I imagine the students like it because it gives them yet another reason for a mid-week party (besides the tried and true, day ending in “y”).

As good as national exposure can be, it also cuts both ways. The nation got to see our beloved Southern Miss demolished by Boise State, Tennessee and Cincinnati. And those same disinterested bar patrons, none of whom could even tell you where Rice is located, saw them run up a good lead and Southern Miss fall short of a comeback. The national exposure we received in 2007 hurt us far more than it helped us.

I can see the argument developing… What about the TV money? We need that if we want to keep six home games. Yes, TV money is good and necessary. Correct me if I’m wrong, but as I understand it, every team in C-USA gets their share of the TV money regardless of whether they were the ones playing that night.

Now that I’ve worked through the pros of non-Saturday games, let me take a few minutes to go through the cons.

I live five hours from Hattiesburg. Its not a bad drive, but it isn’t a weeknight round tripper. To go to a game, I’d need to take at least two half days off. As a result, I’m usually the only interested person sitting in a bar watching the game. Also, it means I have to listen to the clueless announcers (Yes, Barefoot is a great name for a kicker, your colleague said that same thing two weeks ago). Besides, “First down Southern Miss” and “To the top!” sound so much sweeter when you’re sitting in the Rock with thirty thousand (or so) of you closest friends.

College football games belong on Saturdays. It is when they feel natural and rich. Saturdays at the Rock are magic. Fans, close and far, have time to get to campus. Thousands of us fellowship at the various tailgates around campus. We go into the Rock with the intention of being loud and watching the Golden Eagles dominate in their house. We feel the excitement of watching the live game and seeing how far little ol’ Southern Miss has come. We remember seeing players like Collier, Winder, Favre, Pinkston, Nix, Thomas, Boley and Davis on this same field on a Saturday.

This year in particular, I believe Coach Fedora will do more to build excitement for Southern Miss football than ESPN2 ever did. That will result in more butts in seats (BIS), which is what really matters. A full Rock means more now than national exposure. When Coach Fedora’s team begin shocking people for the right reasons, we’ll get all the national exposure we want.

See you at the Rock!

Southern Miss has released the 2008 Schedule.   And I have to say it is very doable!  The have some early tests, with games at Auburn and home versus Boise State.  They’ll also have opportunities to return the favor of home losses to Memphis and Rice.  The most important game of the regular season has to be Central Florida.
Should be a great college football season… now if it’ll just get here.

2008 Southern Miss Football Schedule

I’ve been in Asia for about two weeks and one thing that always hits me in the face here is the difference in cultures, particularly as it relates to respect.  In Asia, you’re given a certain level of respect just for breathing.  Beyond that, respect is given based on position.

By now all Southern Miss fans know about Mark May’s comments regarding the resignation of Coach Bower.  His famous statement, “Who do they think they are?” still echos for many of us.  Gianinni did a great job of responding, not through words, by actions.  He’s hired Coach Fedora and the influx of energy and excitement is incredible.

On those long flights around the world, I get a chance to catch up on reading the magazines I subscribe to.  On this trip, I brought along the January 28th issue of ESPN the magazine.  In the Mike & Mike section was a piece on Jones’ taking the SMU job.  The blurb ripped him for leaving Hawaii.  Of all things, they chastised him for leaving the wonderful Hawaiian weather.  No mention of the ratty facilities he had to deal with in Hawaii, or the increase in pay.  Again, Mark May’s comments echoed in my head.

Both pieces came from ESPN, but honestly that is about the only sports opinion market outside of the independent bloggers.  So, the mainstream sports media, as it were, has decided that C-USA has a place.  And that is a very, very low place.  Therefore, anyone who wants to coach in C-USA or any C-USA school that loses a winning coach is being foolish.

I strongly believe the mainstream sports media doesn’t see the bigger picture here.  Or maybe they do and I’m looking at things all wrong.  Is our goal to climb out of the mid-major conferences and get into the BCS?  Or should we seek a different path?

Since we aren’t in the East (by East I mean Asia), we aren’t going to be given any respect.  In the West, we will have to earn it.  For me, being accepted into the BCS to get respect is way to clickish.  And with market forces mattering more than wins, we aren’t likely to ever be a part of the “popular kids.”

Which leaves only one path.  Team for team, C-USA has to get better.  To prove we’re better, we have to start improving our results versus the BCS opponents.  When we, as a conference start beating BCS teams, then we should start garnering more respect.  And, in the West, earned respect is much sweeter.

Some may ask why I think we have to do this as a conference and why Southern Miss couldn’t just do it themselves.  Quite simply because we need our whole schedule to look harder.  It will be very easy for the mainstream sports media to discount a win over Auburn and Boise State when they see the rest of our schedule as a pushover.  But when we’re playing a quality conference schedule and take down some big OOC teams, then we’ll leave no room for doubt.  A strong conference is in our best interest.

The old mantra of “win more than you lose” is dead.  The new one should be, “make them respect us.”

The NCAA Football Rules Committee has made several recommendations regarding rules changes for next season. These proposals will be reviewed by the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel in April. In this article, I’ll discuss each of the proposals.

Forty Second Play Clock

Currently, the play clock does not start until the ball is placed and whistled as “ready for play” and the play clock is set to 25 seconds. Under this proposal, college football would adopt the NFL’s 40 second play clock, where the play clocked is started as soon as the previous play is whistled “dead.”

I doubt that, on average, it takes more than 15 seconds to set the ball. But I have been at games where it appeared that the officials were taking their time placing the opponent’s ball, at least more time than we were given. So, in a sense, this will improve the fairness of the game.

While it shouldn’t have much affect on the time between standard plays, it will on some longer plays. I also agree that no huddle teams will like the new rule, not only for the additional time it will give the QB to read the defense, but also because the offense may be able to prevent defensive substitutions.

Good Change!

Extra Play Challenge

This proposed change will give coaches a second appeal opportunity in each half if they are successful in their first one. As it stands now, each coach gets one appeal per half. The coach has to weigh the significance of the potential reversal verses the lost opportunity to appeal an even bigger play.

I don’t have the stats, but from my experience the call on the field usually stands. This is because the evidence from the video has to be conclusive that the call was wrong. This additional burden of proof makes overturning calls that much harder.

So, I don’t think this will have much of an affect. Yes, there might be one or two more challenges per game (consider it time for a bathroom or concession break). I like the fairness that when coach is successful, he isn’t penalized.

Good change!

Out-Of Bounds Clock Stoppage

With this proposed change, except for the final two minutes of each half, the game clock will not stop when a player goes out of bounds. This is another game shortening change. This one, more so than the 40 second play clock, will significantly reduce the number of plays in a typical game, and that will result in lower scoring games.

Clock management is not just something teams do in the last two minutes of a half/game. And keeping players on the field and getting off the field has always been a big part of how teams manage a game. This rule, if it is accepted, will make it that much harder for teams to make up large deficits in the second half. Fans will come to hate this rule when they realize that games will be decided much earlier in a game as 3+ score comebacks will become an even more rarity.

Bad change!

Kick Off Out-Of-Bounds

With this proposed rule change, the receiving team will have the option to have the ball placed on the 40 when a ball is kicked out-of-bounds (it is currently the 35). There are three reasons that a ball is kicked out-of-bounds. When the kicker screws up, when the kicking team is attempting an onside kick, and when the kicking team doesn’t want the opponent to have an opportunity for a good return.

For onside kicks, this rule really won’t have much of an effect. The ball is usually much further up the field as far as the spot where it went out, so teams will opt for that spot.

If your kicker is regularly screwing up, get a new kicker.

Teams typically get out to somewhere between the 20 and 35 yard lines on a standard return. So, a 35 yard line placement isn’t much of a penalty when you’re facing a dangerous kick returner. Having the ball placed on the 40 will make coaches apply additional scrutiny of the cost/benefit of this tactic.

Good change!

Incidental Facemask Penalty

Football is a fast-paced, brutal game. In the heat of the moment, a defensive player can easily find his hands grabbing the wrong thing (take that however you choose). A part of me says that intent should play some part of the assessment of the penalty. Clearly taking a player down by the facemask is dangerous. But should a player receive the same penalty when he inadvertently grabs and then releases the facemask? And, aren’t we asking a lot of the officials to make this distinction in realtime?
Yes, we want to protect the players. I’m just not sure this proposed rule really does that. And it can have a huge affect on the outcome of a game.

As you can see, I’m torn on this one.

Horse Collar Tackle

The NFL instituted this personal foul penalty a while back. The intent is to protect the player as this type of tackle usually results in the tackler rolling up onto the runner’s legs. It usually occurs when the tackler isn’t able to make a clean tackle and therefore grabs the shoulder pads at the back of the runner’s neck. While not as dangerous as a facemask takedown, it does pose a significant threat to the players.

Good Change!

Sideline Warning

Officials will no longer issue sideline warnings when players or coaches are inside the designated sideline area. I’ve always wondered why they issue warnings versus giving a penalty. This is the only infraction where warnings are publicly given. I can understand that players and coaches are excited about the on the field action, but they know the rules of the game and should be held to them. If this rule is accepted, the five yard penalty will be assessed when players or coaches crowd the field.

Good change!

Other Thoughts

Two of the proposed rule changes are being considered as a means of shortening games. As one poster on EaglePost.net noted, the length of a game is affected by TV timeouts more than the play clock. Where is this desire to shorten the game coming from? TV of course.

The fan at the game doesn’t care that the game lasts three and a half hours. But we do hate seeing the Red Hat on the field. And the fan watching on TV also doesn’t care if the game runs over. We know this is possible, so we prepare for it and we know how to set our DVR to compensate (Tivo has this as a built in feature).
Now, we are talking about college football here. That is where this becomes personal. With the drive, tickets, hotel (I live five hours from Hattiesburg) and meals, each game I go to costs me about $600. So, yes, the number of plays matters to me. I hope the NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel thinks long and hard about the affect the game shortening rules will have on the fan. I certainly hope we matter more than the TV networks.

Okay, I’m now completely convinced that we’ve reached the tipping point for stupidity and waste. Of all the issues going on in America and the World, Arlen Spector has decided to spend resources investigating the New England Patriots cheating scandal that has been dubbed “SpyGate.”

That anyone took the time to name this episode should tell you that something is terribly wrong. But in the world where we have not one, not two, not three or four, but five separate ESPN stations, we’re going to have to live with some anomalies like that. I can accept that to some extent.

Our government is going to spend precious resources to determine what we already know. Coach Bill Belichick is a dick. And he wants to win. He is not beyond cheating to make that happen.

What is unclear to me, and maybe I’m just a tard when it comes to issues of such importance, is what’s the big deal? And what are the potential outcomes? It is an NFL issue and the NFL has addressed it to their own satisfaction. The only victims here are the other teams. And none of them really seem to care much.

Perhaps my EaglePost brethren could come up with a real men of genius lyric? My best shot would be Mr. Getthepublictofocusonunimporantthings. Its Football. Yes, the players and coaches are well paid. And advertisers have to consider how scandals like this affect them. But why should Arlen Spector be involved? Maybe he’s hoping to score tickets to next year’s Superbowl?

So, my first Idiocracy Award goes to Arlen Spector. Congratulations!

I bought my Wii just after Christmas. I play with it almost every day I’m at home. I also bought several accessories and the Madden 2008 game. I bought the Play game pack, but found it rather boring. Besides Madden, I spend most of my time playing the Sports Pack games (bowling, golf, tennis, baseball, and boxing).

If you’re willing to wait, you can probably get one backordered at a local store (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc.) and you’ll pay list. If you’d like to get it now, the best bet is to buy it online. There are quite a few available on Amazon (see link above). I’ve also seen them on eBay, if you have the patience to bid, lose, bid, lose, until you finally get one (I came to realize that in the end, you’ll be real close to the Amazon price).

If you want to play other people (besides online), you’ll need to pick up additional Wii controllers (aka Wiimotes) and nunchuks.

One of our posters recently posted a link to this article in the Spreveport Times -

Jimmy Watson: Losing Jefcoat leaves big hole at Tech

First, we’re talking about an 18 year old kid here. For someone to get so worked up about him changing his mind speaks volumes for the writer.

Second, we’re talking about choosing between colleges to PLAY FOOTBALL. Of course the coach isn’t losing any sleep. If he were, I’d have serious concerns about the mental stability of that coach.

Third, we’re talking about a non-professional sport. Using terms like “stabbing in the back” is way overboard. So he waited until the last minute?  It was an important decision to him and he struggled with it.

And finally, this was a far more important decision for the kid than it was for the coach. The coach can get another QB next year (not to mention that he should have been going for two this year). The player’s eligibility is tied to this decision.

I’m appalled at the Tech coach for the statements he made that were quoted in this article and the writer of this article (for obvious reasons). I’ve always had a ton of respect for LA Tech. They just dropped a notch in my book.

I’ll leave it up to UsMmBa90 at: My 6-Minute Response to Mark May’s Question
And RockSolidEagleFan at: Another Response

Okay, now it should be clear to everyone, including Mark May, that Southern Miss made a gamble that paid off!  In honor of the mantra that has become evident on our site, I’ve changed the name of the blog to whodowethingweare.net.   Thank you for your continued patronage.  Southern Miss, TO THE TOP!

Who Do We Think We Are?