Category Archives: Sports

Field of Nightmares

 

Iowa has never hosted a Major League Baseball game, which is strange, because for so many people, Iowa cornfields have come to represent a place where the game can be played as it used to be, as it should be.

~Chelsea Janes/Washington Post

Much is being written about last night’s “Field of Dreams Game” between the Yankees and White Sox in Dyersville, Iowa, location for the 1989 film based on William Patrick Kinsella’s novel Shoeless Joe.   Major League Baseball (MLB) described it on Twitter as, “What a night!! Baseball remains the best!”  The New York Times touted the event as “packed full of nostalgia.”

Unfortunately, for me, someone who has two personal connections to the film and its location, last night was anything but a dream.  It was a nightmare akin to the “upside down” alternate universe in “Stranger Things.”

The first occasion on which “Field of Dreams” came alive for me was during a driving vacation when our family made a detour to Dyersville.  The three of us made our own version of the classic film.  We walked out of the corn into right field.  My daughter and I had “a catch.”  We did the wave on the three-tiered bench along the first base line a la Kevin Kosner, James Earl Jones, Amy Madigan and Gaby Hoffman.  And through the magic of stop action, duplicated the scene where a young “Moonlight” Graham crosses the base path and becomes Dr. Graham, except young and old Archibald Graham were played by my daughter and wife instead of Frank Whaley and Burt Lancaster, respectively.

The second occasion was an opportunity to discuss a pivotal moment in the movie with James Earl Jones.  When Ray Kinsella (Kosner) drops Terrence Mann (Jones) at his Boston apartment following a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, Mann makes a hand gesture as he says goodbye.  Always interested in the origin of these small but powerful cinematic moments, I asked Jones had he come up with the idea.  Or was it in the script?  He told me he adlibbed that little piece of business drawing on the body language used by casino croupiers to signal, “The hand is over.”

What I saw when I switched to the game was not the Field of Dreams I knew.  If MLB and Fox really wanted to pay homage to baseball as it is presented in both the movie and book, all they had to do was read the script.  For example, listen to what led a young Archibald Graham to hitchhike on a rural roadside where he is picked up by Kinsella and Mann.

Moonlight Graham - Wikipedia

I play baseball.  I’m looking for a place to play.  I heard that all through the Midwest, they have towns with teams.  And in some places, they’ll even find you a day job.

Or Mann’s climatic explanation of baseball as the national pastime.

The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball.  America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers.  It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again.  But baseball has marked the time.  This field, this game.  It’s a part of our past, Ray.  It reminds us of all that once was good…and it could be again.

“Field of Dreams” is the story of a long ago game captured by Roger Kahn in The Boys of Summer or Doris Kearns Goodwin in Wait Till Next Year or George F. Will in Boys at Work.  It is the saga of a struggling graduate student who would walk to Memorial Stadium in Baltimore and pay 85 cents for a bleacher seat or who picked up a $10 ticket to game six of the 1971 World Series.

In no way did last night have any connection to those youthful memories.  The “characters” on the field have individual salaries that dwarf the total payrolls of all the teams combined when Joe Jackson took to the outfield in Comiskey Park.  And a fan needed to be equally well off as tickets ranged from $375 to $1,210 per seat retail with many being resold online for more than $4,000.

Nor was the game played on the original field.  Instead it was “staged” in a temporary 8,000 seat stadium complete with digital scoreboard, a jumbotron and advertisements projected on green screens around the ballpark.  MLB and corporate media had produced the perfect metaphor for modern day America.  Billionaire owners and multi-millionaire players entertaining rich fans who paid more for an evening of faux nostalgia than the monthly take home pay of the average household.  A far cry from Archie Graham’s “they’ll even find you a day job.”

Field of Dreams (1989) | Sherdog Forums | UFC, MMA & Boxing DiscussionInstead of a one-off regular game in a neutral location, MLB missed a golden opportunity to honor its past.  Imagine two teams, made up of current inductees in the Baseball Hall of Fame, taking the field like “ghosts” of a past era.  And fans standing or sitting on beach chairs along the baselines, sipping lemonade served from the porch of the “Kinsella home.”  On the day my family arrived at the field, there was a pick-up game.  The score did not matter.  The sights and sounds on the field let you know there was magic in the air.  When Terrence Mann tells Kinsella, “People will come, Ray.  People will definitely come,” that is what he envisioned.

One more thing. If Fox Sports really wanted to honor the underlying theme of the film, Ray Kinsella’s relationship with his father John over Joe Jackson’s role in the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, they would have had Barry Bonds, Pete Rose and Alex Rodriguez in the broadcast booth.   That would have represented “the one true constant” associated with baseball, athletes putting themselves before team and willing to bend or break the rules to win at all costs.  Come to think of it, that would have been a perfect metaphor for America in 2021.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

“Get Off My Lawn” Olympics

 

Question du jour:  Can someone become a grandpa in attitude and behavior without actually having grandchildren?

Answer du jour:  Absolutely!

Case in point, the 2020 (aka 2021) Tokyo Olympics.  Before I begin to rant, this is not about any of the following:

  • Whether the games should have been held in COVID-rich Japan?
  • Donald Trump and other members of his cult rooting against American athletes.
  • Simone Biles’ “twisties.”
  • The delayed broadcast of events for which outcomes were already known due to the time difference between Florida and Tokyo.

Cycling-BMX freestylers soar on Games debut | ReutersIt is not even about my perennial bias against many Olympic events, i.e. if you cannot time, measure or keep score of an event, it is not a sport.  That is not to say I do not admire the talent and devotion  to their craft of gymnasts, divers and ice skaters.  They are athletes par excellence by definition.  “Persons who are proficient in sports and other physical exercise.” (Dictionary.COM)  This explains why I would stay up until 3:00 am to watch the final round of men’s golf or get up at 4:00 am to watch the women’s soccer team.  But would rather binge watch “Ted Lasso” every night rather than NBC’s Olympic coverage of rhythmic gymnastics, skate boarding or BMX freestyle.

My rant about this quadrennial version of the world coming together to celebrate athletic achievement focuses on the adage, “More is less.”  Oh, for the days of the first Olympiad in 1896 when there were nine contested sports–Artistic Gymnastics, Athletics, Cycling (Road & Track), Fencing, Shooting, Swimming, Tennis, Weightlifting, Greco-Roman Wrestling.  With the exception of “artistic gymnastics,” all met my personal definition of sports.  But even then gymnastics were described as “art” which trained experts can judge but the ultimate value resides “in the eye of beholder.”

This past fortnight, there were 339 medal events in 33 categories.  Therefore, the prime time, network coverage proved to be a highlights film, jumping from one event to another.  If you wanted to focus on any particular sport or event, you had to be the equivalent of an NSA analyst to decode its time and location.  Consider NBC’s own answer to the question, “How do I watch the Olympics on TV?”

NBC is home to the Olympics and USA, CNBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA and GOLF Channel will also air coverage of the Tokyo Games. Check your local listings here. For live streaming options, events will air on NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Sports app and Peacock.

I do  not have the ultimate solution, but let me suggest the following as a good start.

  • In two current Olympic sports, golf and tennis, “the world comes together to celebrate athletic achievement” almost every week.  Both have major championships for men and women.  Golf even dubs four of its annual premiere tournaments as “WORLD Golf Championships.”
  • Television and corporate sponsors created something called “The X-Games” specifically to display artistic skills not previously covered at the Olympics or lacked existing world class circuits.  These events have grown in international stature and participation.
  • Some team sports already have major international competitions, most notably men’s and women’s soccer.  World-class players whose “day job” depends on salary offers rather than nationality have a chance to play for their country every four years in the World Cup.  In contrast, basketball, baseball and softball professional competition is mostly limited to national or regional boundaries which makes the global Olympic version unique.
  • Do not give the host country discretion to add new events.  At France’s request, break dancing will makes its entry into Olympic competition.  This addition, among others, was approved by the IOC, in it’s own words, “to make the Olympic Games more urban, more youthful and more female.”  Is the IOC blind to the increase in diversity among athletes in more traditional Olympic events?
  • Focus on sports that have minimal exposure outside of the Olympic games and celebrate the heritage of 124 years of history.  Elevate the importance of events for which the Olympics is THE major international competition for a sport.

Maybe, none of this matters.  The sustainability of an international competition of this scope may be more a question of economics.  Every recent host city of the summer games has dealt with major cost overruns which make the event a money loser and less desirable.  On July 21, the IOC awarded the 2032 summer Olympics to Brisbane, Australia, not a huge surprise since Brisbane was the sole bidder.  Will the day come when there are zero applicants for the “honor” of subsidizing the games with taxpayer money.

Likewise, the economics are dependent on lucrative contracts for the television rights.  In 2011, NBC paid $12 billion for the U.S. broadcast rights through 2034, money that is recouped from advertisers who may pay as much as $200 million for advertising packages running up to and including the games themselves.

However, a steep drop in average prime time viewers from 29 million for the 2016 Rio games to 16.8 million this year could dampen advertiser enthusiasm in the future.  The New York Times reports, “NBCUniversal has offered to make up for the smaller than expected television audience by offering free ads to some companies that bought commercial time during the games.”  NBC is betting the drop in viewership was due mostly to the impacts of COVID on the spectacle nature of the games, especially the opening and closing ceremonies, and the 13 hour time difference between Tokyo and the east coast of the United States.  The network anticipates a major rebound, especially in 2028 when Los Angeles will be the host city.

Yet, it is anything but a sure bet. Suggestions for future games include paring down the number of events or spreading them across several locations with existing facilities to alleviate major construction costs.  Any option will be a balancing act of Herculean proportions, requiring the talent and preparation of an Olympic athlete.

This “honorary grandpa” wishes them good luck.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

The American Open

 

Collin Morikawa wins British Open for his second major at age 24There was a moment yesterday, during the presentation of the Claret Jug to Collin Morikawa, when I thought his overwhelmingly positive reception by the patrons at Royal St. George might turn to enmity.  As reported by Yahoo Sports, there was an “audible gasp” and “stir on social media” when the new champion said, “To see some of the best crowds I’ve ever seen, I look forward to my trip every year to the British (my emphasis) Open to see you guys.”  The United States does not have a monopoly on political correctness.

Some think referring to the final major each year as THE OPEN is a relatively new phenomenon.  Actually, the opposite is true.  Just ask Malcolm Booth, the communications director for the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, golf’s most recognizable venue and the present day keeper of the flame.

The name of the championship hasn’t changed in 155 years.  The reason we think 155 years on there (sic) is legitimacy in calling it ‘The Open Championship’ is it really was the birthplace of open competition.  (Associated Press interview in 2016)

Hard to argue with that, except times have changed.  A century and a half ago, the event at St. Andrews was the only “open” golf competition which allowed both professionals and amateurs (as opposed to the “open era” in tennis which began in 1968).  Today, every country which now belongs to the community of golfing nations has a similar if not quite as venerable event.  The same might be said if one compares the world of George Washington with the present.  When the United States emerged as the first modern republic in 1789, if you referred to Washington as THE president, everyone knew about whom you were talking.  But imagine if, today, the secretary general of the United Nations introduced Joe Biden as THE president.  He would be greeted with more catcalls than Roger Goodell at a Patriots football game.

However, this was just one of many stories coming out of Sandwich, Kent, England.  The return of the open and its patrons. Phil Michelson’s first round 80.  Jordan Spieth’s roller coaster ride to a second place finish.  Another Oosthuizen near miss.  However, the main event was the contrast between two American players which mirrored what may be the major but least documented factor causing the current division in the American psyche.  Not partisanship or ideology or even culture.  STYLE!

At one extreme of the spectrum was Bryson DeChambeau.  In 2019, DeChambeau promised to transform himself and the game of golf by gaining 30 pounds and focusing on swing speed.  His goal?  To overpower a golf course starting from the tee box with drives that left him with short irons to almost every green.  Since re-emerging as the “bully of the fairways” in 2020, he has won three tournaments including the 2020 U.S. Open.  [NOTE:  Prior to the transformation he won five PGA tournaments from June 2017 through November 2018.]

He has two other traits which might also remind you of another American.  He believes he always has the right answer, and when he does not succeed, he looks for a scapegoat.  This latter characteristic was on full display last week when he blamed Cobra, the manufacturer of his driver, for all the errant tee shots that left him three over par, 15 strokes off the lead, at the finish of Saturday’s third round.

At the other extreme was the eventual winner Morikawa.  Above all, he paid attention to history.  He took a lesson from Tiger Wood’s 2006 Open victory at Hoylake, when he pulled out his driver only once over four days.  Prioritizing ball placement over distance, Woods avoided the overgrown rough and pot bunkers that spelled disaster for other competitors.  A similar approach served Morikawa well as he finished the tournament without a bogey on any of the final 31 holes.

This diversity in styles, a modern day fable of a hare (DeChambeau) and a tortoise (Morikawa), is why, despite the location, this Open was much more American than British.  It was a metaphor for the state of our nation’s body politic which is too often driven (pun intended) by decibel level rather than substance.  Where a belief there is nothing to learn from history competes with knowledge and experience.

There is an old saying among golfers.  “You drive for show and putt for dough.”  DeChambeau, like that other American, does put on a good show.  But the proof is in the putting.  Can you effectively finish what you started?  If golfers were assessed like Olympic divers and skaters, it’s safe to say the panel of judges (and history) would still be out.  Otherwise, you have to look at the scorecard where the record currently sits at the 24 year-old, 160 pound tortoise-two majors, the 27 year-old, 240 pound hare-one.  For now at least, Aesop is still right!

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Into the Woods

 

Last week, I mentioned how current events have triggered reminders of past life experiences.  This morning was one more of those occasions.  The prompt was a CNN report under the heading, “Tiger Woods won’t face charges after sheriff says car crash was an accident.”

The year was 1993.  I was lead staff for a National Governors Association project to establish uniform state policies for the regulation of the hazardous materials (HM) trucking industry.  The first step involved formation of a working group consisting of state and local officials, environmental interests and the industry.  In preparation for the first meeting I met with staff from the National Highway Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) to confirm what I believed to be the primary goal of the project: reconcile the myriad difference in HM regulations among the contiguous 48 states while still ensuring safe movement of some pretty nasty stuff within the legal definition of HM ranging from large quantities of nail polish to radioactive waste.

The project was a compromise with the industry which pushed for federal preemption of state authority.  During congressional hearings for what became the Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act of 1990 (HMTUSA), states made the case they already had the infrastructure in place to regulate the industry.  To shift responsibility to Washington, D.C. would require a significant increase in federal resources and staffing, something the George H. W. Bush Transportation Department was not ready to support.

At the NHTSA briefing, I asserted the states’ primary objective was prevention of accidents which resulted in HM spills which threatened both human safety and the environment.  I was immediately stopped and told (paraphrasing}, “There are no such things as accidents.  DOT uses the term ‘incident.’  There is either equipment failure or operator error.”  For example, metal fatigue results in a broken axle.  A driver falls asleep after violating mandatory rest stops.  The shipper inadequately secures the cargo.  Even incidents related to so-called “acts of God” are avoidable if the proper preventive measures are employed.

Too bad Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva had not been in attendance at that briefing.  On a Facebook Live chat about Tiger Woods, Villanueva said:

We don’t contemplate any charges whatsoever in this crash.  This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime. They do happen, unfortunately.

Accidents do not just happen.  Villanueva reminds me an of old Joan Rivers joke about the business executive calling a tryst with his secretary an accidental affair.  His wife responds, “Did you slip on a banana peel and fall into her vagina?”

Used 2019 Genesis G80 5.0 Ultimate Sedan 4D Prices | Kelley Blue BookNone of us knows exactly what happened, but if you look at the following range of possibilities, it is hard to call what occurred at 7:12 am this past Tuesday an accident.

  • The steering rod breaks or other equipment on the Genesis GV80 Woods was driving fails.  Not a great advertisement for a car with a $48,900 base price and title sponsor of last week’s PGA tournament for which Woods was the host professional.  Though the price seems worth it based on the survivability factor in such a horrific crash and rollover.
  • Woods was late for a photo session at Riviera County Club and may have been exceeding the speed limit to make up time.
  • Two days earlier Woods had talked with CBS’ Jim Nance about his discomfort from December back surgery.  One would think he might consider a driver as the normal one hour drive from his  hotel to the Club would test his tolerance level to be strapped in, relatively immobile for that length of time.
  • There could have been an object in the road (e.g. animal or pothole) in which case the driver would be expected to slow down to avoid it.
  • Though the police at the scene claims he did not seem to be impaired, his condition and the need to get him to the Harbor-UCLA trauma center ASAP meant that normal on-site breath or dexterity tests were not employed (now known as the Bruce Springsteen defense).
  • Perhaps conditions demanded vehicles proceed at less than the posted speed limit.
  • Or Woods simply did not appreciate how fast the car was going due to the exceptionally smooth ride, quiet interior and the 375 horsepower engine under the hood.

Surely, no one believes Woods intended for this to happen.  But it is just one more example of the difference between intent and accountability.  I will leave it to the judicial system to decide if any laws were violated.  Though there is a touch of irony.  A major objection to the use of excessive force by police in several noted cases is when the arresting officer exceeds his/her authority becoming the judge and jury.  In this case, Villanueva did much the same thing, except, playing prosecutor, judge and jury, he singlehandedly acquitted the suspect.

Maybe the Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods” is actually a metaphor for encounters with law enforcement.  If you are a famous athlete involved in a serious car crash which could endanger life and property or rock star arrested for DUI, the relevant song is “No One is Alone” from Act II.  The police and courts have your back.  But if you are an average Joe or Jane with a burned out taillight or you are jaywalking, you have a different take on the encounter. “Agony!”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Fore! Play

 

There are two organizations in which the members are largely responsible for monitoring their own behavior.  The first is professional golf.  While there are rules officials on the course during every tournament, they rarely have to charge a player with a violation of the sport’s behavioral canons or assess penalties.  A professional golfer who deviates from the standard of self-policing can quickly be marked by fellow contenders as a persona non grata.

Golf: Patrick Reed accused of 'cheating' againTo understand this principle, one need look back no farther than the 10th hole at Torrey Pines during the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open this past weekend.  Patrick Reed’s second shot found the left rough, bounced and dove into the deep blend of kikuyu, rye and poa annua grass.  Reed, upon reaching his ball, believed it was embedded in the softer than usual ground, understandable considering the course had been pummeled by rain and sleet the previous day.  Instead of immediately calling for an official or asking another member of the threesome to confirm his judgment, Reed picked up the ball and examined the lie.  Immediately, the online golf community speculated Reed should be assessed a two-stroke penalty for moving the ball.

The same day, Rory McIlroy faced a similar situation on the 18th hole and took comparable relief.  However, McIlroy did not face similar protests on the internet.  Was it merely the fact McIlroy first conferred with playing partners Robby Shelton and Will Gordon before touching the ball?  Were the situations so different to suggest Reed actually violated the rules while McIlroy had not?  Not according to the tournament officials who, after reviewing video of Reed’s actions, did not assess any penalty.

Technically, both players adhered to the procedures laid out in Sections 16.3 and 16.4 in the “Rules of Golf.”  Then, what was the difference which created an uproar in one case and not the other?  Two things.  First, in golf, there is a difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the game.  While acknowledging Reed did not technically violate a rule, all four CBS commentators–Nick Faldo, Ian Baker Finch, Frank Nibolo and Dottie Pepper–said they would never have done what Reed did.  They confirmed McIlroy followed the more common and accepted practice of involving others BEFORE moving his ball.

The second is what one announcer referred to as Reed’s “pre-existing condition.”  This diagnosis was based on Reed’s history of questionable actions going back to his college days at the University of Georgia where he was dismissed from the golf team after just one year.  Subsequent behavior including arguments with course officials, additional charges of cheating and homophobic hot mic comments have made Reed one of the most unpopular players among his peers.   Therefore, if like McIlroy, the issue on Saturday had been a one-off, he too may have received the benefit of the doubt.  But one’s credibility and reputation depends not only on what you do today, but past patterns of behavior.

Which brings me to the second organization in which members are expected to self-monitor, the United States Senate.  And in this particular case, Republican senators.  They too have a Reed-like “pre-existing condition.”  When out of power, GOP members of the upper chamber of Congress beg the Democratic leadership to give a little in order to win bi-partisan support for pending legislation.  But it is never enough.  Of course, the best example is the Affordable Care Act.  At Republicans’ request, Democrats agreed to remove a public option to increase support for the bill, much of which was modeled after Massachusetts law championed by then governor Mitt Romney.  However, following adoption of several GOP-sponsored amendments, not one Republican voted for passage of the bill.

So yesterday, when the 10 Republicans who brought their counter proposal for COVID relief to the Oval Office claimed they were acting in the spirit of bi-partisan unity, should we give them the benefit of the doubt?  That depends less on what they say and do today than their history in similar situations.  If politics were golf, you might call that past behavior “fore! play.”

Postscript:  Origins of a Conspiracy Theory

Some alt-right conspiracies are understandable.  For example, Trump supporter Sal Amanda posted the following on Twitter.

Forget the misspellings and typos.  Anyone could confuse labor and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez for the late Hugo Chavez.  Right?

But how do you explain Marjorie Taylor Green’s conspiracy theory the California wild fires were started by Jewish anarchists using space lasers?  Last night, while searching for songs on Amazon Music Unlimited, I think I found the answer.  There it was, the all-Aryan cast album of the 2020 production of Fiddler on the Roof on which the eighth song “Tevye’s Dream” identifies the leader of this Hebraic cadre of international renegades as “the butcher ‘Laser’ Wolf.”

You cannot make this stuff up.  Or maybe you can.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP