Supercharged Drivers Kept out on Tour

The PGA Tour is starting to test drivers, to make sure that the clubs fall within the standards set by the United States Golf Federation. The first test are taking place at this week's Mercedes Championships in Hawaii, and the first driver tested was the one belonging to Tiger Woods. That seems fitting, as it was Woods who set off a firestorm last summer when he said that he thought that some players on tour were using "hot drivers," that is, drivers which impart more force to the ball through a trampoline-like action than allowed by the rules. Woods is on the record saying that he thinks the testing should be mandatory, but it isn't.

Instead, it's voluntary program, where players can submit their own equipment for testing. There is apparently an exception where if one player questions the legality of another player's driver, it will be tested, which could lead to some ugly gamesmanship.

Golf is a sport which has long prided itself on honor and a self-policing attitude toward the rules of the game. But the equipment revolution that has transformed the game makes some of those attitudes impossible to sustain. There's no way to look at a driver and tell if it's legal. These tests are a step in the right direction, but I think they should be, and soon will be, mandatory.

Proposed fixes to the BCS

College football coaches are set to recommend changes to the current Bowl Championship Series, which should come as no surprise. What we don't know is what those recommendations are going to be -- that will have to wait until Thursday. Look for them to recommend that teams which don't win their conference title be barred from playing in a BCS game. That's a simple solution which would have prevented Oklahoma from playing in the Sugar Bowl this year, and given us the USC/LSU matchup that we should have had. It also would have solved the problem of Nebraska in 2001, giving Oregon the shot they should have had at the national title.

The coaches will also recommend a fifth BCS game, which will definitely happen. It's a way to head off the potential lawsuit brewing against the six major conferences who make up the BCS.

Molitor and Eck to the Hall

Today's Hall of Fame announcement didn't really contain any surprises, with Paul Molitor and Dennis Eckersley claiming their place in Cooperstown. Molitor got 85% of the vote, and Eckersley got 83. Molitor ranks eighth all-time in hits, which came as a bit of a surprise to me as I looked over his numbers. My memories of him primarily concern his amazingly quite approach at the plate, and his terrific performance in the 1993 World Series for the Blue Jays. I got the chance to meet him once, and he seemed to be a nice, genuine guy.

Eck was as good as anyone who ever closed a game. Has a pitcher ever had a more dominating season, starter or reliever, than he did in 1990, when he allowed 41 hits and 4 walks in his 73.3 innings, giving up only 5 earned runs? He also pitched a no-hitter for Cleveland in 1977, long before he reinvented himself closing games. They're two worthy choices, that's for sure.

As for those left out, Ryne Sandberg still isn't getting much love. He was the next highest vote-getter, with 61% of the vote. Seventy-five percent is required for election.

I don't understand what is keeping Sandberg out of the Hall, and I hope that I'm not saying that just because he was my favorite player. When you have the discussion about the best modern second basemen, it starts and ends with Sandberg and Joe Morgan. I think that Sandberg will eventually get in, but I'm surprised it's taking this long. Of course, Lee Smith got more votes than Bert Blyleven, so what do I know?

Is There Any Doubt?

After LSU made Oklahoma look almost completely impotent last night in the Sugar Bowl, we've got our split national title. The game was far from a classic, marred by endless penalties and mistakes, but LSU was clearly the better team. Oklahoma looked lost for most of the game, with the exception of one good drive and a blocked punt. Jason White was horrible, on the whole. Admittedly, this guy is like a walking HMO at this point, but his throws were consistently off the mark. He seemed rattled by the intensity of the LSU pressure, and never found a way to cope.

If you watched both the Sugar and Rose Bowls, I'd love to hear what you thought. In my opinion, USC was clearly the best of the teams in those games, but I think and LSU/USC matchup would have been terrific, especially to see USC's receivers take on the excellent LSU secondary. Unfortunately, we'll never see it.

Breaking the BCS

It's no secret from what I've been writing here that I think the BCS is deeply flawed, and needs to be ditched. But even with as much of a joke as I think it is, I was shocked to see this quote in an AP story about the system, and the AP poll:

"I want to screw up the BCS," said Scott Wolf of the Daily News in Los Angeles. "Hopefully this will force some change to the system. It exposed the shortcomings with a split championship. If LSU had been left out, I'd vote them No. 1."

Wolf is one of the voters in the AP poll of college football writers. It's the AP poll that USC will likely win, setting up the split national title.

But Wolf is just an idiot if that's why he's voting the way he is. Isn't he obligated to vote for what he considers to be the best team, and not to screw with a system he doesn't like? If I were the AP, I'd take his vote away today.

USC Dominates

I hope that any of you out there who like college football watched the Rose Bowl yesterday. USC was simply awesome, beating a very good Michigan team, 28-14, in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the score might suggest. USC made Michigan look silly for most of the game, pounding the Wolverines on defense, and tearing them up with a slick passing game on offense. In fact, one of the things that struck me most was USC's dominance of the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, which lays to rest the notion that Pac 10 teams can't be tough in the trenches.

The BCS's dream of a Michigan upset didn't come true, and so we'll have a split national champ. It's a damn shame that we can't see USC play the winner of Sunday's Sugar Bowl, because that would be one hell of a game.

Also, it was really interesting to see all of the announcers on ABC, the network which is partnered with the BCS, proclaiming USC the national champs and the best team in the country. How do you think the BCS folks feel about that? I'd imagine that there were some pretty ticked-off phone calls after the game, asking ABC not to run down their own product.

Baseball's Other Bonds

Just got the latest edition of the SABR Business of Baseball committee newsletter in the mail. I missed this when editor Doug Pappas posted it on his weblog, but Major League Baseball is selling $1.5 billion in one- and 10-year bonds. The bonds will be secured by revenue from TV and radio, sponsorships, and licensing. The sale is being led by FleetBoston and Bank of America. Anyone else want to own some of MLB (or at least some of their debt)? I can't seem to find the rating for these bonds online, but if anyone else can, let us know in the comments. It will be interesting to see if baseball is a good investment or not.

Beane, Foulke, and Tejada

The Boston Herald reports that the A's have offered closer Keith Foulke a four deal at about $6 million a year. Foulke apparently wants to resign in Oakland, and the deal seems to be about the same money that Foulke is being offered by the Boston Red Sox. Expect to see a deal before Sunday, when the A's have to decide whether or not to offer Foulke arbitration. What's interesting about this is that Beane has made a little industry of moving closers at the point that they become overpaid. Tying up $24 million in a closer goes against what he's always done -- and that makes me wonder what he's thinking.

It seems to me that Beane thinks the window for this team might be closing, and he's probably right. Miguel Tejada is probably gone already -- Beane told MLB.com that "I haven't spoken to Miguel's agent. I don't know if we're waiting for anything, we're just sort of moving on." Chavez is a free agent after 2004, and the Big Three are signed through 2005.

His quotes about Tejada seem to indicate that the TLong/Hernandez for Kotsay trade wasn't a move to try and free up money for Miguel. Could there be another trade in the works? Was it to free up money for Foulke? Have Hoffman and Schott loosened the purse strings to let Beane try and grab a title before the Big Three put on their pinstripes?

I'm not sure, but I'd guess by the weekend, we might have a much better idea of what's going on in Oakland

Sins of the Father

Down in Starkville, Miss. today, there's going to be a news conference to announce that Sylvester Croom has been hired as the new head football coach at Mississippi State University. Croom played under Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama in the early 70s. He was an assistant at Alabama from 1977-86, and since then, he's been an assistant coach with five different NFL franchises. He's also an African-American.

This is the first time that a black man will coach in the Southeastern Conference. The SEC is, in some ways, the beating heart of the South, especially during football season. The battles between schools like Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Georgia is a secular religion, a stunning example of sport's ablility to captivate, inspire, and thrill us.

But the history of the schools in the SEC also includes much shame. Autherine Lucy being chased off the campus at Alabama. James Meredith registering for classes at Old Miss, with 5,000 federal troops there to protect him. George Wallace blocking the door at Alabama's Foster Auditorium to prevent two black students from registering.

As I write this, I'm listening to the Drive-By Truckers, who have been writing and recording some pretty damn great music about life in the South. I was thinking about a lyric in their song, "The Three Great Alabama Icons"

Racism is a worldwide problem and it has been since the beginning of recorded history, and it ain't just white and black. But thanks to George Wallace, it's always a little more convenient to play it with a Southern accent.

There's a lot of truth in that statement, I think. The South, and Southerners, are convenient targets of scorn and ridicule. Getting back to the issue that started me down this road, it's not as if black coaches have made great strides elsewhere. There were only four black head coaches in NCAA Division I-A football this past season, out of 117.

That's outrageous. The fact that no black man had been a head coach in the SEC until today is shameful. But when Sylvester Croom walks onto the field steps on the field in Starkville on Sept. 4 next year, and the Bulldogs charge out to take on Tulane, one more small step will have been taken away from Wallace's legacy.

Weblogging Badges of Honor

So, just about every weblog in the universe seems to have the same sort of buttons on it somewhere. In fact, the pull was so great that I just had to put some up on this site. They're in the left column, down below the link. It all started on Antipixel, with buttons that I find handsome, but not overwhelming in their beauty. There is something about them that screams, "I am a geek!" in a way that appeals to me.

It obviously appealed to others, too, because now there are over 1,700 of the damn things available for downloading, including the ones that I just put up. You can even make your own online.

There's something a little sad about the visual state of the web -- especially when it comes to weblogs. There are some beautiful sites out there, but overall, it looks like most of them are one of the same ten templates (present company included).

I'd be inclined to think of the proliferation of these buttons as another symptom of that stunted state of design, but maybe there's something else. It's a way to visually proclaim that you get it. That you're part of the mass of bloggers who understand what it means to be blogging.

Or, maybe you're just to lazy to design your own buttons.

The Wild World of Tennis

Just when you think that other sports are in a bad way, you can almost always count on something amusing happening in the never-dull world of tennis. The latest is that Kim Clijsters, the #2 ranked woman in the world, will skip the 2004 Olympics.

Why, you ask? Because she can't wear Fila clothes. Clijsters' contract with Fila stipulates that she can only wear their clothes on the court, but the Belgian Olympic Committee requires that Belgian athletes wear apparel from their sponsor, Adidas.

Right now, you can read the charmingly-poor translation of Clijsters' web posting about this. She makes a fair point -- Fila has been supporting her career for years, and she feels indebted to them.

But someone at Fila needs to take her aside and say that while they appreciate the loyalty, it's more important for Fila to have her at the Olympics, where she would be a favorite for a medal.

One assumes that cooler heads will prevail at some point, like they did when this same issue raised its head with the 1992 "Dream Team" in Barcelona. Maybe someone can get Clijsters a Belgian flag to cover the Adidas logo.

Online Baseball Rights

Catching up, Wired News ran my story on Major League Baseball's move to collect license fees for online gamecasts like those featured on ESPN, Yahoo!, and Sportsline. The legal issues around this are really cloudy, and it will be interesting to see if someone stands up to MLB and forces this to go in front of a judge. In some ways, it almost feels like it needs to be litigated, to get some clarity on what constitutes a broadcast.

The Cubs Trade

The deal was Hee Seop Choi and a PTBNL to the Marlins for Derrek Lee. I can't decide if I think this is the sort of move the Cubs should be making or not. On one hand, it's painfully obvious at this point that Dusty Baker is simply never going to be comfortable relying on young position players unless he's given absolutely no other options. He can protest all he wants that it's not the case, but everything we've seen from him as a manager says otherwise.

Lee is arbitration eligible this year, and could be looking at a contract in the $7 million range, which seems about right for a Gold Glove first baseman who hits 30 homers and drives in 100. He's a good hitter, and doesn't need a platoon, which means that we've probably seen the last of Randall Simon. There's a lot of like about Lee as a player, especially as he's coming into what should be his peak. A strong glove over there could be a big help for Ramirez at third, and another run producer is crucial for this offense.

Will Choi ever be a star? That's the real question here. If you think he will be, then this is probably a bad deal, as the Cubs have only guaranteed themselves one year of Lee, before he hits free agency after 2004 (although Chicago will likely try to sign him for a longer term before next season). If Choi breaks out in Florida, which he very well might, then the Cubs might have cost themselves millions of dollars over the next five years.

But there's another way to look at the situation. The Cubs have pretended to be a medium-market team for years, which is a load of crap. There aren't five teams in baseball with a better financial situation than the Cubs.

Maybe they finally have the go-ahead to spend some of that money. This is a deal that should be made by a team with money. Teams with money don't have to hope that their prospects pan out, even prospects as good as Choi. Teams with money can let other teams take that risk, which is exactly what Hendry is letting Florida do. If this trade means that the checkbook is open on the North Side, then I say bring it on.

Thoughts from the road

Traveling on the day before Thanksgiving is only something that should only be attempted for reasons of thrift or masochism. In my case, the lure of an afforadable airfare chased me out of bed at 4:15 in the morning, with 10 hours of travel ahead of me to get to North Carolina to see my family. There's something eerily beautiful about a deserted city. Walking to the BART train that would take me to the airport, I saw only one car. It was a crisp night still in San Francisco, and the silence and the solitude were magical.

You know that you've arrived in Dallas when you see guys walking around with a nice crease ironed into their jeans, with Tony Lama's peering out from underneath. A shoe shine at DFW costs you $4, but it's $5 for a boot shine.

The weather in North Carolina over the next four days is predicted to range from 72 degrees to 29 degrees. This presented a packing problem for me, so I ended up hauling far too much stuff across the country.

I'll be catching up with my family, eating and drinking and arguing and watching sports, through the weekend. Not sure if there will be any more posts until Monday.

What Happens When a Sports League Thinks

Good AP story today about the NFL and its marketing efforts amongst Spanish-speakers. What the NFL gets is that the Hispanic population of the US is exploding, and that any league that can create fans in Spanish-speaking communities will be in a great position. Major League Soccer has refocused their marketing plan to try and reach out to Hispanic markets where a love of soccer already exists.

This raises the question: What is Major League Baseball doing? I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that they aren't marketing very effectively to Hispanics -- they aren't marketing effectively to anyone. But this is another opportunity that could slip through MLBs fingers if they don't get on the stick. There are more Spanish-speakers playing baseball than any other pro sport by a huge factor. If you can't market to Hispanics with Sammy Sosa, Albert Pujols, Ivan Rodriguez, and Pedro Martinez, you're got a problem.

Barry in a Catch-22

As the BALCO steroid investigation continues, the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that a raid at the home of Barry Bonds' personal trainer in September turned up "suspected anabolic steroids." No one has confirmed this as yet, but it seems like a decent bet that steroids were found in the house of a guy who has worked with Bonds for years, and was around the clubhouse all the time. This, along with Bonds' association with BALCO, is intensifying the long-standing rumors that Bonds was taking steroids. And the simple truth is, we'll never know if he was or not. If he was, he certainly won't now that Major League Baseball is finally going to test for steroids (no matter how perfunctorily). He's too smart to get caught.

On the other hand, if he has been clean, there's not going to be any way to stop the whispers. Simply put, everything Bonds has done in the past is tainted, whether or not he was actually on the juice.

Just imagine if he comes out this year and hits 20 homers. The innuendo will be overwhelming. No one will discuss the possibility that it's just the aging process -- it will just be sly asides and winks. It's a shame, either way. If he's dirty, it's a shame that he's done that, and if he's clean, it's a shame that he'll always be suspected of being dirty.

Battle at the Big House

If you like college football (and if you don't, you should), tomorrow will be a great day. It's the day that many of the classic rivalry games are played, including the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn, the Civil War games in Washington and Oregon, the Harvard/Yale game, USC vs. UCLA, and the "Big Game" between Cal and Stanford out here in the Bay Area. But for me, there's one rivalry that surpasses all the others: Ohio State and Michigan. Of course, I would say that, because I'm a die-hard Ohio State fan.

Some sports teams we get to pick; some are thrust upon us. I was born in Columbus, Ohio two days before the 1971 OSU/Michigan game while my dad was attending school at Ohio State. One of the earliest pictures of me included a small stuffed OSU football. I had no choice--the Buckeyes were my fate literally from the day I was born.

I remember watching them lose in the 1980 Rose Bowl, blowing a shot at a national title by failing to stop a late USC drive. I sat at my parent's friends' house, where we had gone to watch the game on a projection-screen TV, and sobbed.

Last year, I sat in a hotel room in Vancouver, my infinitely-patient girlfriend by my side, watching Ohio State win their first national title in my lifetime. After the game, I was unsure how to act, as no team I root for had ever won a thing. I ended up just walking around with a goofy grin, while the Canadians on the street wondered had put me in such a state.

Tomorrow, OSU and Michigan play for the 100th time. If Ohio State can win in Ann Arbor, they'll get a chance to defend their national title. This is a team that continues to squeak out wins in the most improbable ways. In fact, they're so weak that they're seven point underdogs, even though they're the higher-ranked team.

No predictions from me here. But I know that at 9 AM here on the West Coast, I'll be in front of my TV, living and dying with every play.

More on Steroids and THG

First of all, thanks to Christian for the link over here from Cub Reporter. We've know each other a long, long time, and it's fun to be able to link to his site, which is the best team site that I know of. Now, back to the simmering steroid issue. The IAAF, the governing body of track and field, has announced that a "very low" number of urine samples from the recent World Championships have tested positive for THG. The IAAF is retesting some 400 samples from the Worlds for the genetically engineered steroid.

According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the THG comes from BALCO here in the San Francisco area, which is the subject of an ongoing grand jury investigation. Four members for the Oakland Raiders have reportedly tested positive for THG.

This situation is about to get very, very ugly. Athletes who test positive for THG will be banned by the IAAF for two years. But the smoking gun here could be BALCO, and a) whether they were distributing THG, and b) how many of their clients were taking it. If they were, we could be looking at dozens of high profile athletes facing not only suspension from their sports, but criminal charges as well.

Happy Birthday to Me

I start my Sandy Koufax year today.

Attributing Genius

Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A's, is one smart guy. In fact, he's gotten a bit of a reputation as the smartest executive in baseball, as he's steered the A's to the postseason the past four years with a payroll the size of the Yankees' catering budget. This reputation was certainly helped along by Michael Lewis' Moneyball, which cast Beane as the best in the business. Beane might be the smartest guy in baseball, but that's like saying you're the tallest midget in the world--there's a surprising lack of competition for the title. Beane has recognized that certain skills, such as getting on base, are undervalued in the market for talent, and he should be commended for that.

That's probably why he went out yesterday and traded Ted Lilly to the Toronto Blue Jays for Bobby Kielty. Kielty has a nice OBP, and will be an upgrade to what was the worst outfield in baseball last season. Beane's got a lot of pitching in place, and perhaps the thinking was that Lilly, without Rick Peterson tending to his mind and body, would regress to the pitcher he's been most of his career, and not continue to be the stud he was down the stretch and into the playoffs in 2003.

But Beane has made is share of mistakes, and none of them looms larger than signing Terrence Long to a four-year, $12 million contract extension in August 2001, after which Long became about the worst regular in baseball. Beane is so desperate to get that contract off his hands that he's apparently close to trading Long and Ramon Hernandez to the San Diego Padres for Mark Kotsay.

Kotsay will make $5.5 million each of the next three seasons, which seems like too much for the A's. Could it be that Beane has another move lined up? If not, I don't understand the Kotsay move -- why not just cut Long and keep Hernandez? We'll have to wait and see where Beane is headed this offseason, and if he can keep his reputation intact.