Thought of the Day – 6/30/2014 – Helmets

A random thought from somebody who thinks about football 365 days a year and is encountering a lot of motorcycles in my daily travels:

Why do you rarely (if ever) see motorcycle helmets designed to resemble college or professional football helmets?  I’m not talking about a guy on a motorcycle wearing a football helmet, but rather a motorcycle helmet that has the paint and decals of the rider’s favorite college or NFL team.

Google tells me that such helmet designs exist (see here, here, and here) but I cannot remember ever seeing one on the streets.  That strikes me as odd, especially considering the national popularity of the NFL as well as the borderline obsession my fellow Nebraskans have for our Cornhuskers.  I can’t believe that I don’t encounter motorcyclists wearing a helmet done up to look like the Huskers, Chiefs, Packers, Bears, Broncos, Wildcats, or other local favorite teams every single day.

The closest thing to a Nebraska helmet I could find.

Riders, let me know.  Are sports branded helmets not widely available?  Are they too expensive?  Or would you rather ride in a standard black lid than one that looks like your favorite team’s helmet?

NFL Draft Walk Up Music – Four Ways (W)

For the first time, players chosen in the first round of tonight’s NFL draft will take the stage to walk-up music they picked.

There are just so many ways I can go with this.  So many, in fact, for me to decide upon my favorite.  Therefore, I give you NFL Draft Walk-Up Music four ways:

I – Friendly Suggestions for the Projected* Top 10 Picks

*based on USA Today mock draft

1.  Houston Texans.  Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina  

“Tears of a Clown” – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles  (honorable mention:  “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman)

2. St. Louis Rams.  Greg Robinson, OT, Auburn

“Mrs. Robinson” – Lemonheads

3. Jacksonville Jaguars.  Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson

“Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow”* – Sammy Davis, Jr.

*Aside from the whole Sammy Davis, Jr. for Sammy Watkins angle, there is no real reason for this song, but can’t you just picture The Commish getting his groove on to this funky track?

4. Cleveland Browns.  Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M

“Flirtin’ With Disaster” – Molly Hatchet

5. Oakland Raiders.  Khalil Mack, OLB, Buffalo

Songs like “Return of the Mack”, “Mack the Knife”, and others are too predictable.  So how about this big Mack classic?

6. Atlanta Falcons.  Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

“The Devil Went Down to Georgia” – Pomeroy

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M

“Born to Fly”* – Sara Evans

*Disclaimers:  I abhor country and/or western music, but “Mike Evans” doesn’t lend itself to a lot of musical ideas.  Also, if anybody in the Top 10 would go with a country song it would be a guy from Texas A&M.

8. Minnesota Vikings.  Blake Bortles, QB, Central Florida

Whenever I hear “Blake Bortles”, my mind goes to the Bartles and Jaymes wine coolers from the 1980s.  As classic as the “We thank you for your support” commercials were, they don’t really lend themselves to NFL Draft walk-up music.  So we go to Plan B – as in Bruce.

9. Buffalo Bills.  Taylor Lewan, T, Michigan

“Levon”* – Elton John.

*Close enough

10. Detroit Lions.  Justin Gilbert, CB, Oklahoma State

“I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” – Gilbert and Sullivan

*   *   *

II – Rejected Walk-Up Songs

Because some songs, regardless of their eternal awesomeness, just don’t work for a setting like the NFL Draft.

• “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” – Cindi Lauper
• “Baby Got Back” – Sir Mix A Lot
• “Loser” – Beck
• “Dancing Queen” – ABBA
• “Ironic” – Alanis Morrissette
• “Little Green Bag” – George Baker Selection
• “Wake Me Up When September Ends” – Green Day
• “It’s Raining Men” – Geri Halliwell
• “Cold Hard Bitch” – Jet
• Anything from the “Frozen” Soundtrack
• “Just a Friend” – Biz Markie
• “Brown Eyed Girl” – Van Morrison
• “F*** You” – Cee Lo Green
• “You Know I’m No Good” – Amy Winehouse
• “99 Problems (But the Commish Ain’t One)” – Jay Z

*   *   *

III – Under the Radar Walk-Up Songs

The odds of any of these being used are slim to none*, but they would get noticed more than the draftee’s double-breasted aquamarine suit with purple pin stripes – and in a much more positive light.

*Oddly, as a white guy in my late 30s, my musical tastes differ from soon to be professional athletes in their early twenties.

• “Celebrate” – Rare Earth
• “Feels So Good” – 311
• “If I Had A Million Dollars” – Barenaked Ladies
• “Skills to Pay the Bills” – Beastie Boys
• “Runnin’ Down A Dream” – Tom Petty
• “Honor” – The Nadas (below)
• “The Fixer” – Pearl Jam
• “Just Got Paid” – ZZ Top

*   *   *

IV – Michael Sam Long Distance Dedications

I realize that Michael Sam, the Missouri linebacker who is poised to be the first openly gay player in the NFL, is not likely to be picked in the first round, but in compiling this post, there were several tracks that made me think of him and the adversity he is likely to face this year.

Disclaimers:  I have nothing but respect for Michael Sam, his athletic ability, and the gigantic microscope he now has to live under just for being the man he is.  I mean zero disrespect to Sam – or any other member of the LGBT community.  We’re just having some fun here.  If this list offends you, I apologize and refer you to the Duran Duran track below.

• “I’m Gay” – Bowling for Soup
• “Your Little Secret” – Melissa Etheridge
• “Break on Through” – The Doors
• “Come Out and Play” – Offspring
• “Strong Enough” – Sheryl Crow
• “It’s Not Unusual” – Tom Jones
• “Pride (In the Name of Love)” – U2
• “Relax” – Duran Duran
• “Living in America” – James Brown

*   *   *

(Author’s note:  Wondering why there is a random letter in parentheses in the title of this post?  Not sure how this post corresponds to the daily letter in the April A to Z Challenge?  Like clicking on links?  These questions are all answered here.)

Pay for Pink

October means two seemingly different things:  football season is in full swing.  Breast cancer awareness month means there is pink everywhere.

Once upon a time, these two things lived their own separate lives, with the only crossover being a few public service announcements during NFL games.  But now, pink is as present in an October football game as the football itself.

In practically every October game, pink is prevalent.  Teams wearing pink gloves, pinks arm bands, pink shoes, pink socks, pink logos on their helmets, pink towels, pink jerseys, and pink helmets.  For one ill-fated week, the NFL even used pink penalty flags.

I think it is time for some changes.

All pink, all month long.

I’m not saying we get rid of pink throughout football.  We all agree that cancer sucks, raising awareness for a disease that strikes so many Americans is good, and every good football player loves his mom / wife / sister /  grandmother / aunt.

But somewhere along the way, the focus changed.  Instead of being a good way to raise awareness for a horrible disease, it has somehow found a way to be both over-the-top and empty.   As more teams and players get on board the hot pink bandwagon, wearing pink is becoming more of a “me-too”, keeping up with the Joneses competition than a simple act to raise awareness.  When few do it, it has impact.  When everybody does it, it has little meaning.  There have even been claims that the proliferation of pink has more to do with expanding the NFL’s female audience than raising breast cancer awareness.

It’s time to pump some new life into the wear pink process, and have it made a statement again.  Here’s what I’m thinking:

Make it a pay to wear campaign.  You want to wear pink?  Make a donation.  A pink wristband?  $100 donation.  A pink towel in your waistband?  $250.  Pink cleats and socks?  $500.  And so on.  The more you donate, the more pink you can wear.

Now instead of an empty gesture where guys put on pink because everybody else it doing it, you impart real change:  Actual money for research is generated.  If half the players in the league donate $100 to wear a pink wristband, that is almost $90,000.  Plus, those who truly support the cause can be easily identified and recognized.  Now, any of the “me-too” players who want to fit in can do so while still making a difference.

Yes, technically, money is going to breast cancer research from the pink stuff in the NFL – both from retail sales and auctioning off game-used items.  However, there is some concern/controversy surrounding just how much money the American Cancer Society actually gets from the NFL for selling pink gear stuff to their fans.  My plan would bring in additional funds – without the league, retailers, or manufacturers taking a cut – as well as generating goodwill for the players.

Obviously , a “pay for pink” campaign would work a little differently for the college kids, most of whom are not in a financial position to make charitable contributions.  Therefore, at the college level, it is the schools who pay for pink.  If Oregon wants to make a statement with their pink helmets, make them* write a five or six figure check for the privilege.

*I say “them” loosely, as I doubt many athletic departments at taxpayer-funded state universities can (or would) write big checks to charity.  But there are plenty of behind the scenes benefactors (boosters, alumni, local businesses) who may chip in – not to mention the money out there from apparel deals with Nike/Adidas/Under Armour, the billion dollar TV deal the school has with their conference, or their head coach making over $2 million a year.

In the case of Oregon and their pink helmets, the donation money could come from their apparel provider (Nike), a prominent alumnus (Phil Knight), funds from the Pac 12’s TV deal (which brings in about $21 million per school, per year), or head coach Mark Helfrich ($1.8 million base salary).

By shifting from “everybody wear pink!!!” to a “pay for pink” model, awareness can still be raised, but more importantly, real money can be raised to fight the disease.

Random Thoughts on Random 2012 Events

A little peek at how the hotdog of this blog is made:  often something will catch my eye – a newspaper article, something on the radio, a viral video, etc – and I’ll start a post with my thoughts, observations, and (hopefully) unique spin on things.  For examples of what I mean, I’ll refer you to my posts on Google Goggles, the Penn State scandal, and the alternate uniforms worn by the Nebraska football team.

But sometimes those posts don’t get published.  Sometimes life (work, family, sleep, etc) takes priority, and by the time I get back to it, the moment has passed.  Or I’ll stop working on it because I don’t like where its going or I feel like I don’t have an interesting enough point of view.  At that point, it lingers out in my Drafts folder on the remote chance that I’ll eventually complete it or salvage it for scrap.

However, in light of my all-out, everything must go blitz today, this is a good opportunity for me to clean out some of the stuff I have lingering in my Drafts.  So let’s take a trip back through the year that was 2012, and I’ll quickly give my two cents which will seem oddly out of place several months later (especially where I incorrectly predict that Jon Bruning wins Ben Nelson’s Senate seat).

Fat News Anchor
Recap:  Some guy thinks the local news lady doing the morning show is setting a bad example because she’s on TV, overweight, and has not made any obvious changes in several years.  The anchor (Jennifer Livingston) responds on air, and the video ends up being a virally shared “I wish I’d said that” rallying cry for anybody who has ever felt bullied.  (More info here)

My take:  Maybe I’m calloused by years of reading online comments, but I didn’t really see the “bullying” in the original email.  The worst thing he says to her is that she is that her “physical condition has not improved” over the course of a few years – which she freely admits.  He does not call her fat, obese, or any other nasty playground name, nor is he (in my opinion) mean spirited in his comments.  I didn’t read where he says she needs to be an overly tanned, 110 pound stick with fake breasts to be on TV.  To me, it sure looks like he is saying “You have a great opportunity to use your platform as a TV host to promote a healthy lifestyle, and I wish you’d take advantage of it”.  Maybe he could have provided more suggestions like how the she (and her station) would benefit from chronicling her weight loss journey on air, as it would likely motivate many viewers to do the same, but again – it’s not like his email was cruel, mean, or full of hurtful words.

NFL Replacement Refs
Recap:  The NFL locked out the regular refs for the first weeks of the season, replacing them with guys who were officiating D-II and D-III colleges.  This let to numerous screw-ups, culminating in a botched call on Monday Night Football that cost the Green Bay Packers a win.

My take:

I’ll get the disclaimers out of the way right up front:  I’m not a huge NFL guy.  I don’t watch a ton of NFL games (and what I do watch is more in the form of background noise while I’m doing other things).  Since I haven’t been in a fantasy league for a few years, my knowledge of the game is fairly low – which is to say that it’s probably on par with most Americans.

But this week it has been impossible to not be aware of the controversy and chaos caused by the replacement refs working NFL games.  This week’s Monday Night Football game was (incorrectly) decided on a last second pass that appeared to be intercepted, but was ruled as a touchdown.  Since then, the outrage from fans, players, even the President, has reached a fever pitch.  At last count, SportsCenter had shown the play 12,753 times, completely wearing out two digital copies of the play.

Here are some thoughts I have on the replacement refs:

• It will be awesome when the “real” refs come back, as they have never done anything controversial, or had high-profile blown calls that impacted the outcome of a game (cough, cough, Phil Luckett*, cough, cough)
• With the poor way the lockout has been handled, and the negative impact it has had on the league, could it possibly be true that sports’ favorite scapegoat (MLB commissioner Bud Selig) is now ahead of Roger Goddell in popularity and public perception?
• When the real refs come back, what sort of grace period will they get from fans and the media where mistakes and miscues are forgiven?  I’ll set the over/under at two games (and would likely take the under).
• Listening to the MNF game, I’m surprised ESPN commentator Mike Tirico didn’t reference the 2006 Alamo Bowl (Nebraska v. Michigan) that was worked by officials from the Sun Belt conference.  In that game, the refs made several questionable calls, and appeared lost on some of the reviews.  Tirico could not stop talking about how the officials from a lower conference were not equipped to deal with the speed of a bowl game featuring BCS conference teams.  Definitely an easy parallel to the replacement refs moving from D-III to the NFL.
• Ironically, that Michigan-Nebraska Alamo Bowl came down to a crazy, bizarre, rarely before seen, last second play where a number of obvious penalties were missed.

*I had initially planned to just drop in the Wikipedia link for Phil Luckett, but when I googled him to find the URL, I saw this article – Luckett was in the replay booth for the ill-fated MNF game as a league supervisor for the officiating crew.  Geez, this guy has a Forrest Gump-ian way of showing up for controversial moments.  If he ever gets on your flight, I’d suggest walking.

Worseminton
Recap:  In the Sumner Olympics, eight players from four different badminton teams (South Korea, China, and Indonesia) were tossed out of the Olympics for intentionally trying to lose their matches.  And I mean intentionally.  Here is a video of one of the matches where some of the greatest badminton players in the world can’t (won’t) hit the shuttlecock over the net.  When we played badminton in junior high P.E., we were better than these Olympians – of course, we were actually trying.

My Take:  A few days before this happened, I posted a list of Rejected Olympic Events.  One of the events I listed was “worseminton”, which was a punny (and hopefully funny) play on badminton.

I did not think anybody would take it seriously.

Why would anybody try to lose at the Olympics?  Because of how the badminton tournament is set up.  Basically (as I understand it) in the early rounds, teams play a sort of round-robin style.  These teams had already qualified for the next round, and the outcome of these matches would determine who they played in the quarterfinals.  Apparently, the teams figured out that losing would be advantageous to their medal chances.  The event organizers should have been aware of this loophole and should work to ensure the best way to win is by winning, not losing.

And that is why I don’t really have a problem with them trying to lose.  These people train hours a day for four years for the chance to win an Olympic medal.  Twenty years from now, nobody will care if the Indonesian B Team won their 3rd match in pool play.  They’ll care if Indonesia won a medal or not (as much as folks will care about badminton results in 20 years).  So if these teams figured out a (legal) loophole to improve their chances at that medal, good for them.

Where they screwed up is by sucking so badly.  It’s too bad that in all that training, they could not have found time to practice losing in a plausible manner.

MLB Home Run Derby
Recap:  The 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held in Kansas City.  Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees (a team Royals fans love to hate) initially said that he would consider picking hometown slugger Billy Butler for the Home Run Derby, but then left him off the team.  Cano was booed loudly during his HR Derby at-bats, and exited the competition quickly.

My Take:  KC fans were justified to boo Robinson Cano.  Consider:

I guarantee that if Cano does not say anything about including a representative from the Royals, he does not get booed (or at least not that loudly – he is a Yankee, after all).  But Cano opened himself for the abuse by opening the door and then slamming it in the face of the Royals fans.

There was a ton of criticism for how the KC fans reacted which bothered me too.  If this happened in New York, Boston, or Philly, not as much would be made of it, but the media couldn’t understand how the normally charming Midwesterners could do this.  As a Midwesterner, I’ll tell you:  treat us with respect and we’ll return it tenfold.  Treat us like fools and suffer the consequences.

Finally, with this being MLB, there must be criticism for Bud Selig and the commissioner’s office.  One of two things needs to happen.  Either 1) Always include a roster spot for a hometown guy, or don’t put the pressure of picking teams on one of the players.  Take the defending champ, the leaders from each league, and any other blatantly obvious choices (i.e. Prince Fielder, Jose Bautista, etc) who might be left out.

Obama Slow Jams the News
Recap:  President Obama went on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and took part in a bit where he discussed policy (the cost of higher education, in this case) while The Roots and Fallon provided a background of a smooth R&B jam and backing vocals (“He’s the POTUS with the most-us!”).

My Take:  This is an interesting way to take his message to the audience (Fallon was taping at the University of North Carolina that week) that would love it and respond accordingly (instead of CNN, C-SPAN, or some speech).  I like how Obama embraced this and was able to pull it off looking smooth and cool, which is not something you’d see out of pretty much any Republican nominee (save, maybe, Bush Jr.)  Could you imagine Romney, McCain, Dole, Bush Sr, or Reagan trying it?  That would be a different kind of hilarious.

But ultimately, how does Obama benefit?  Sure, he locks up a good chunk of the youth and “hip” vote, but I’m guessing Romney would much rather have the old and “un-hip” vote, as they, you know, tend to actually vote.

Bob Kerrey Runs For Senate
Recap:  When Ben Nelson chooses to retire from the Senate instead of seeking reelection, Nebraska Democrats recruit former Senator and Governor Bob Kerrey to come back from New York City to run.  Why?  Because it is widely believed that Kerrey gave Democrats the best chance to retain Nelson’s seat.

My take:  Politics in Nebraska is kind of like a Harlem Globetrotters game.

The Republicans are the Globetrotters, the seemingly unbeatable team dressed up in red, white, and blue.  The Democrats are the Washington Generals, the hapless team that feigns resistance while the Globetrotters do whatever they please to keep the people happy.  In Nebraska, the Governor, all three U.S. Representatives, and one Senator are all Republicans.  So are Attorney General, Secretary of State, and the majority of state senators.

So Kerrey announcing that he’s going to come back and run for the Senate is both good and bad.

It is good because it means the Senate seat won’t be decided in the primary election.  The Democrats have a candidate with name recognition, experience, and serious potential to win the election.

But it is bad because the best candidate* the Democrats could find to replace the soon-to-be 71-year-old Ben Nelson is a 69-year-old who has been living in New York since 2001.

*No disrespect to University of Nebraska regent Chuck Hassebrook, who decided to run after Kerrey initially declined to join the race, but you were going to join Stormy Dean, David Hahn, Mike Meister, and others in the category of “Sacrificial Democrat Lambs in Nebraska Elections.”

And that is the sad part.

It is sad and pathetic that the Democratic Party has so completely and utterly failed in developing viable, state-wide candidates that Kerrey is the best (if not only) option to have a shot in November.

Look at the Republican Party:  you have some rather established names in the big offices (Heineman, Johanns, Fortenberry, Terry, Smith).  But it is the depth that helps to make them a political juggernaut.  Bruning, Sheehy, Flood, Foley, Fischer, and a couple of other state senators whom I’m blanking on at the moment.  One goes down, two more step in.

This isn’t to say that there is nobody in the Democratic line-up.  On the contrary, there are some very good state senators (Bill Avery, Danielle Conrad, Amanda McGill, and my fellow Gretna Dragon, Heath Mello).  All are doing good things in the Unicameral, and making names for themselves.  Unfortunately, none of them are truly ready for a statewide or national election.  And that failure is squarely on the shoulders of party leadership.

And so I will be voting for Kerrey (mainly because Jon Bruning is a sweater vest away from being Rick Santorum), but I hope the Democrats know and understand that after this election, there will be no more white knights riding in to save the day.

Thought of the Day – 12/17/11

If you follow the football – or sports in general – you probably know all about Tim Tebow.  I’m not going to recap all of his accomplishments – both on and off the field – but lately he has been leading the Denver Broncos to a series of improbable, come from behind wins.  Pretty amazing stuff, and a great story.

Of course, that is not all. 

No, for all of his football success, Tebow has made just as big of a name for himself due to his very outward religious beliefs.  He praises God in almost every interview.  His frequent on-field prayers – Tebowing, as the kids call it – are both a point of pride for Christians and a source of mockery for Tebow’s numerous detractors.

I’ll spare you my Tebow-specific thoughts*, mainly because I’m not an NFL guy nor do a lot of public discussion of religion.

*And because as a die-hard Nebraska Cornhusker fan I am predisposed to hate any college quarterback who is said to be better than Tommie Frazier, as Tebow was in his Florida days.

But here is my question:

How would our feelings about Tebow change if the faith he wears on his sleeve was something other than Christianity?  What if Tim was a Buddhist, a Jew, or *gasp* a Muslim?

As uncomfortable as a very public display of faith can make us feel, it would be a whole other ballgame if that faith was something other than our nationally accepted religion.