Archive for Culture
Simmons on Vick
Posted by: | CommentsI definitely agree with Bill Simmons’ take on Michael Vick. He is long, but I think he is more or less right on. Thoughts?
Instant Replay or Good, Honest Men?
Posted by: | CommentsI have probably watched more professional baseball this summer than any other summer or my life. I think my son’s love for the game has served to stoke the fires I always had for the game. It often won out over basketball when I was young.
Anyhow, over the past few weeks, I have seen two Yankees games and heard numerous more discussions by commentators regarding the need for expanded use of video review. I mention the two in connection because they are connected, as much of the discussion as of late has been in response to two missed calls during Yankees games.
The two I saw firsthand involved Yankees batters, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, apparently being hit by pitches and being rewarded first base. Upon further review, however, it became plain that Jeter faked getting hit in the hand when the ball really hit the bottom of his bat while Posada acted like a pathetic European soccer player who falls without getting hit at all. The pitch clearly bounced past his leg without so much as grazing his uniform. (In Jeter’s defense, his hand at least might have stung a bit, but it was obvious a foul ball.)
In listening to much of the commentary about these incidents, the overwhelming emphasis was on the need for replay. But I found this overwhelming emphasis on replay to be more disturbing than the incidents themselves. Why? Because in these instances (note: there are other instances that certainly warrant the discussion), such an emphasis completely misses the real issue.
In my opinion, the response to two players essentially cheating should not be, “This is why we need replay” but instead should be, “This is why we need Jesus and a radical renewal of our minds in regards to sports.” Of course, I don’t expect that from ESPN anytime soon, so at the very least, we should hear, “We don’t need replay, we need these men to step up like men, be honest, and play fair. We need them to play the way they should play and win or lose within the rules. We need them to be the men we all want them to be, men who set a good example of playing the game the way it should be played. We need them to give us all a breath of fresh air and tell the truth.”
But you know, the sad thing is that the reason we don’t hear people talking like that is because we don’t value these things enough. In our dominant sports culture, winning is king, so rather than call it cheating, the talking heads call it competitive fire or gamesmanship. What? It’s not gamesmanship or competitive fire. It’s cheating. It’s lying. It’s sin. And it is terrible for the game and everyone involved in the game. It’s not the way things ought to be in sports, or anywhere else for that matter.
I am all for competitiveness and winning, but we need to recognize that we emphasize winning too much if we have any room for bending the rules. Not only that, but we need to recognize that if we see these men cheat and laugh it off as no big deal, we ourselves are exposed. If we don’t think it is a big deal for them to commit such a minor offense, it shows we are probably guilty of the same thing, at least somewhere in life. Our low standard for them reveals the low standard we have for ourselves.
Do we need replay in professional baseball? Maybe. But certainly we need good, honest men who value the right things more.
Bruce Pearl and Big-Time College Athletics
Posted by: | CommentsYesterday I made a brief post concerning the University of Tennessee and their basketball coach Bruce Pearl. If you didn’t know, Pearl had to apologize for lying to the NCAA about recruiting violations. I also linked to an informal survey by ESPN of 20 top NCAA basketball coaches.
While looking further into the story, I came to see that the entire Bruce Pearl incident serves as a good example of much that is wrong in big-time college athletics.
First of all, sad to say, but Pearl does not seem to be a man of integrity. I won’t link to any articles, but a brief search of his name reveals that he has cheated on his wife and is now divorced. Not only that, but a brief look at the photos that accompany such a search show him in numerous circumstances that no respectable man should put himself in, particularly one employed as a leader to young men.
I say this first, because as we all probably know, Bruce Pearl is not the only man out there like this. Take a look around and you will see too many Head Basketball Coaches you don’t want your son to emulate. Even if they haven’t cheated on their wives or abused players or whatever, we just don’t have enough men of integrity. Something is valued more highly than that.
Second, stories such as these show what academic institutions really value. In a perfect world, we would value integrity over financial gain. And thankfully, there are some institutions that still uphold this. But now, especially among the big Universities, financial gain trumps almost everything else.
A look at Pearl’s contract makes this plain: For ESPN has reported that his contract provides him a great deal of protection from getting fired for NCAA violations. Yet, if he were simply losing, no doubt UT could pay him off to leave (happens all the time). The fact that the University agreed to such a deal (re: the protection in light of NCAA violations) speaks volumes about what they really value.
In my opinion, this is a perfect example of failing to serve their student-athletes well. Winning and financial gain trumps it all.
Third, some of the NCAA rules really are bad or at least, unenlightened.
This is not to defend Pearl, but I have to say that there are much in the NCAA rulebooks that do little more than cause confusion. And when I see Coaches getting in trouble for too many phone calls, while so much else that is worse goes on, I can’t help but think that the NCAA is missing the boat. Maybe I will say more on this some other time, but suffice it to say, that although Pearl has no excuse for lying, I know enough to admit that for a college coach, it isn’t easy to stay perfect under all the little rules.
Fourth and finally, everyone has to admit that it is not just people in positions of power that are to blame. For in the example of UT and Bruce Pearl, the supporters of the University of Tennessee must also put themselves in the mix. For the leaders are usually responding to the incentives given them. And at many universities, the incentives are winning and success and financial profit. If the men in power don’t get these things, they are out, so they do what they must.
But, if the community around the university consisted of people who value integrity more than cheap success, much would change. Suffice it to say that no matter who we are, we have to ask ourselves: Are we are a part of the problem or a part of the solution?
ESPN on College Basketball
Posted by: | CommentsThis is an overdue post, but aren’t all of my posts overdue? A rhetorical questions of course.
Anyhow, last week, I was looking into Bruce Pearl and the Tennessee basketball program because of his recent admission of misleading (otherwise known as ‘lying to’) the NCAA. While doing so, I also saw this survey of college coaches re: the current state of the game. Or the current state of things outside the game, depending upon how you look at it.
As someone who wants to go into college basketball coaching myself, much of what I read was disheartening. Though sadly, knowing what I know, I wasn’t surprised. It really is a shame that the game and the well-being of the players and everyone else involved in big-time college basketball has more or less been lost. Or at least set on the back burner. No one is being served well.
If you read the survey of the College Coaches, I would point out one primary thing: none of the Coaches were quoted as getting to the real problem with College Athletics. Some say it’s a rules issue, NCAA issue, Coaches looking out only for themselves, or AAU coaches, etc. But deep down, the issue is within, in the human heart. We have no one to blame but ourselves, from top to bottom.
Though I cannot summarize the real issue in one paragraph, it is my belief that before anything else, individuals all over the basketball world are a part of the problem or making the problem worse by looking out primarily for themselves, failing to consider how their actions fit into the well being of everyone involved. But isn’t that a primary issue in any walk of life? I think so.
Anyhow, check out the articles. I’ll have more to say sometime later. Hopefully, I will say it on this blog…
Qur’an Burning?
Posted by: | CommentsIt is sad to see a man labeled ‘pastor’ so mislead, but so it is for Terry Jones.
Christianity Today writes a good summary about the issue.
They also offer a good editorial regarding how Christians should better love their Muslim neighbors. The most recent events have served to expose the hypocrisy in much of our thinking. We are all for freedom we say, but when push comes to shove, the freedom we are for is only for ourselves. Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves requires better discernment than much of what I see right now.
That isn’t to say that the answers are easy. They are not. But they are certainly necessary to think through with diligence. The anniversary of September 11th seems like a very good place to start.
Update: The documentary, My Trip to al-Qaeda by Lawrence Wright, also looks like a good one to check out. I believe it has already debuted on HBO, but considering how often HBO shows the same programs, you should be able to find it.
