Finding 2011

Image via WikipediaAs we look back on the past year, we found that . . .

• getting fired from a top-rated sitcom because of your wild and crazy antics involving drugs and women isn't exactly "winning!".  His replacement is finding that out, too.
• winning a few football games at the last minute doesn't mean you're the Second Coming of anything.
• covering up for someone who's been accused of child molestation can be hazardous to your career.  Even if you're an "untouchable" legendary football coach.
• with all the singing talent shows on TV, there's "American Idol", and then there's everybody else.
• daytime TV is adjusting to life without Regis Philbin, Oprah Winfrey and "All My Children".
• superstar-laden basketball teams do not win NBA titles.
• Joe Mauer is not who we thought he was.
• the Twins and Vikings could fall so far, so fast.
• the Timberwolves are already there.
• the Wild briefly righted the ship before going on a long losing streak.
• the Vikings are closer to a new stadium than ever before, and yet are so far.
• we don't hear so much from Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco any more.
• major college conferences keep adding and subtracting while chasing those TV dollars.
• the Kardashian family's view of reality is a bit skewed.
• getting knocked senseless during a game is no longer a minor issue.
• the novelty has worn off at TCF Bank Stadium and at Target Field.
• when you name a TV channel after Oprah Winfrey, viewers expect to see more Oprah.  Not some lame reality show, or an old movie.
• Amy Winehouse moved into the ultimate rehab facility.
• war is not a video game.
• Tiger Woods no longer plays golf like he used to.
• the NBA and NFL nearly locked themselves out of business.
• Adele is this year's Queen of Pop, rolling in her misery for our entertainment.
• Who is Whitney Cummings, and why does she have two network sitcoms?
• "Beavis & Butt-head" is back on TV, and they haven't changed a bit.  OK, maybe the music videos have been replaced by "Jersey Shore" clips.  But still . . .
• Hope Solo and Abby Wambach become household names to folks other than soccer nerds.
• Lance Armstrong's feats may be made of clay.

Now let's go find 2012.

NBA 2011-12: The Rich Get Richer

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe National Basketball Association, fresh off a lockout of its players that nearly canceled the season, returns Christmas Day with a 66-game schedule.  That means, in order to get to the playoffs in late April, teams must now play three games in a row several times during the season.  It's great for hoops junkies, but not so much for teams with aging legs who might not be able to take the grind.

One of the things the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was supposed to fix was the migration of star players from small market teams to bigger cities and warmer climates.  It hasn't happened yet.  Chris Paul is the most notable example.  He was supposed to go in a trade from the New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers, but NBA commissioner David Stern--whose league owns the Hornets after the previous owner turned in the keys--vetoed the deal, presumably for the good of the sport.  Eventually, Paul did go to L.A.--the Clippers, not the Lakers--leaving Kobe Bryant a bit upset.  Let's just say this was not Stern's finest moment.

The Lakers did send Lamar Odom to the defending champion Dallas Mavericks, which means wife Khloe Kardashian will have to make a few visits to Yee Haw, Texas.  Sister Kim's soon-to-be-ex Kris Humphries is still playing for the New Jersey Nets, and is apparently not well-liked by the rest of the league.  Ron Artest competed on "Dancing With The Stars", and has changed his name to Metta World Peace.  And Dwight Howard, who had been making noises about leaving Orlando, will play at least one more season for the Magic--unless he's traded by the time you see this.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, struggling to remain relevant after putting up the NBA's second-worst record last season, decided to make a few changes.  They said goodbye to coach Kurt Rambis (who landed in that ex-coaches rehab facility known as ESPN), and hello to Rick Adelman, who has had winning records with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings.  They have added top draft pick Derrick Williams, J.J. Berea from the Mavericks (talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse), and Ricky Rubio to support its star Kevin Love.

All eyes are on Rubio, who had been playing in Europe the past two years since being drafted by the Wolves.  The transition to the NBA is not going to be easy, but if Rubio makes the grade, this will be general manager David Kahn's crowning moment.

The Wolves will not make the playoffs again this year, but they will be less awful than they have been, winning a few more games under Adelman.  Having swept the two-game preseason series with the Milwaukee Bucks, they seem to show a lot of promise.  Now let's see if they deliver.

Here's who we think will make the playoffs:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:  Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Bobcats.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:  Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns.

Realigning Hockey's Concussion Problem

Image by Getty Images via @daylifeThe National Hockey League's Board of Governors recently approved a plan that would reshuffle the deck as far as divisions are concerned, a move made necessary by the transfer of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg.  Going from six five-team divisions to four eight-team conferences starting next season (pending players' association approval), the intent is to develop more geographical rivalries by placing all (or most) of the teams in one region in the same group while reducing travel time.

Realigning the league is an easier task compared to making sure the men who play the games stay healthy.  Lately, there's been a surge of concern over the number of concussions athletes in all sports, no matter what the level, have been taking.  This is very true in hockey, where having a helmet on will not protect you from banging your head on the ice or another hard surface, or for putting up your dukes for no good reason.

The New York Times recently reported that Derek Boogaard, the former Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers player who died in May of an accidental drug overdose, was found during a post-death autopsy to have had chronic traumatic encephalopothy.  CTE is in direct relation to Alzheimer's disease.  Since Boogaard was primarily known during his NHL career as an enforcer, he got hit in the head a lot through punches exchanged with the other team's enforcer, not unlike a boxer.  Having CTE also meant that Boogaard would have suffered from a form of dementia had he lived.

Boogaard was not the only one.  Former NHL players Bob Probert, Reggie Fleming and Rick Martin were also found to have CTE.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said there's no conclusive link between concussions and CTE.  The league's best and most marketable player, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, recently returned to the ice after suffering a concussion almost a year ago.  If that's not a wake-up call, I'm not sure what is.

You can add more padding inside the rink and make better helmets, but that's not going to stop those who insist on turning hockey into demolition derby.  Or a poor man's imitation of a championship fight.  Fighting and checking into the boards has been ingrained in hockey's culture since who knows when.  Really?  The NHL claims the rough stuff sells tickets and drives TV ratings, not the pure skating found in international and Olympic hockey (which might as well be figure skating).  Since when?

I've been watching hockey for a long time, either in person or on TV.  I never cared for the brawlers or the cheap shot artists who turn an otherwise well-played game into a highlight reel that's more likely to make "Sportscenter" and the network news than the winning goal.  That's why players like Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitols and their style of hockey need to be emphasized more than the Boogaards of the world (no disrespect intended), if the NHL ever hopes to grow the sport in the U.S.  If they don't, then they're going to end up with a bigger problem down the road, as we find out more about the effects of too many head knockings.

The 2011 Owljock Bowl Guide

Image via WikipediaOnce again, as a public service, we present our list of the 35 college bowl games that will take place between December 17, 2011 and January 9, 2012.

Our emphasis will be on the names of these bowl games, which in recent years has become the province of corporations and websites who pony up millions of dollars to be its title sponsor.  Some of them might even attract the attention of the local chapter of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The games themselves are notable only if you're a fan of the schools involved, or if you have time to kill during the holidays.  Some of these esteemed football programs are playing for the national championship.  Some of them whine about not getting a better shake from the Bowl Championship Series.  Some did just enough to be bowl-eligible, and some have been tainted by scandal.  But the NCAA allows them to play anyway.

Here's how the OBG works:  We list the name of the game, where it's played, who's in it, and what the title sponsor's business is.  Unless otherwise noted, many of the games will be seen on ESPN and its Family of Networks.  The list comes from ESPN.com.

Gilden New Mexico Bowl:  Temple/Wyoming  (Albuquerque, NM 12/17)
Clothing supplier.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:  Ohio/Utah State (Boise, ID  12/17)

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:  San Diego State/Louisiana-Lafayette  (New Orleans  12/17)
Shipping firm.

Beef O'Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl:  Florida International/Marshall  (St. Petersburg, FL  12/20)
Restaurant chain.

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl:  TCU/Louisiana Tech  (San Diego, 12/21)

MAACO Las Vegas Bowl:  Arizona State/Boise State  (Las Vegas, 12/22)
Chain of auto repair shops.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl:  Nevada/Southern Mississippi  (Honolulu, 12/24)
Hotel chain.

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl:  Missouri/North Carolina  (Shreveport, LA  12/26)
Nutrition supplements.

Little Caesars Bowl:  Western Michigan/Purdue  (Detroit, 12/27)
Pizza delivery chain.

Belk Bowl:  Louisville/North Carolina State  (Charlotte, NC  12/27)
Regional department store chain.

Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman:  Toledo/Air Force  (Washington, DC  12/28)
Defense contractor.

Bridgeport Education Holiday Bowl:  California/Texas  (San Diego, 12/28)
Online college.

Champs Sports Bowl:  Florida State/Notre Dame  (Orlando, FL  12/29)
Chain of sporting goods stores.

Valero Alamo Bowl:  Washington/Baylor  (San Antonio, 12/29)
Energy company.

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl:  Brigham Young/Tulsa  (Ft. Worth, TX  12/30)
Defense contractor.

New Era Pinstripe Bowl:  Rutgers/Iowa State  (New York, 12/30)
Sports apparel.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl:  Mississippi State/Wake Forest  (Nashville, 12/30)
Financial services.

Insight Bowl:  Iowa/Oklahoma  (Tempe, AZ  12/30)
Business technology supplier.

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl:  Texas A&M/Northwestern  (Houston, 12/31)
Auto repair shops.

Hyundai Sun Bowl:  Georgia Tech/Utah  (El Paso, TX  12/31)  CBS
Automaker.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl:  Cincinnati/Vanderbilt  (Memphis, 12/31)  ABC
Auto parts chain.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl:  Illinois/UCLA  (San Francisco, 12/31)
Food giant teaming with anti-hunger organization.

Chick-fil-A Bowl:  Virginia/Auburn  (Atlanta, 12/31)
Restaurant chain.

Ticket City Bowl:  Houston/Penn State  (Dallas, 1/2/12)
Ticket reseller.

Outback Bowl:  Michigan State/Georgia  (Tampa, FL  1/2/12)  ABC
Steakhouse chain.

Capitol One Bowl:  Nebraska/South Carolina  (Orlando, FL  1/2/12)
Financial services.

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl:  Ohio State/Florida  (Jacksonville, FL  1/2/12)
Tax preparation website.

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio:  Wisconsin/Oregon  (Pasadena, CA  1/2/12)
Consumer electronics.

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl:  Stanford/Oklahoma State  (Glendale, AZ  1/2/12)
Snack food brand.

Allstate Sugar Bowl:  Michigan/Virginia Tech  (New Orleans, 1/3)
Insurance.

Discover Orange Bowl:  West Virginia/Clemson  (Miami, 1/4)
Credit cards.

AT&T Cotton Bowl:  Kansas State/Arkansas  (Arlington, TX  1/6)  Fox
Communications.

BBVA Compass Bowl:  Southern Methodist/Pittsburgh  (Birmingham, AL  1/7)
Financial services.

GoDaddy.com Bowl:  Arkansas State/Northern Illinois  (Mobile, AL  1/8)
Domain name registration.

Allstate BCS National Championship Game:  Louisiana State/Alabama  (New Orleans, 1/9)
See Sugar Bowl.

Oh, one more thing.  No Kardashian sisters picture this year.  Sorry.

NBA 2011-12: Do Not Open Until Christmas

Image via WikipediaIn the wee small hours of Thanksgiving weekend while most Americans were stuffed with turkey, football and Black Friday purchases, the NBA settled its lockout.  This was just days after it was widely assumed that the 2011-12 season was kaput.

The new 10-year labor agreement (pending approval by owners and players, even though they dissolved their union) includes a nearly 50/50 split of revenues, a stronger luxury tax on owners who go over the salary cap, restrictions on free agency, and shorter player contracts.  This should appease small market teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves, who won't have to go through another LeBron James All Stars situation with Kevin Love.

The NBA wants to begin its season on Christmas Day, with three games that were originally scheduled for national TV.  They will play a 66-game schedule, with 16 already lost in the two months since the regular season was supposed to start.  And it will end on time, with the playoffs going from late April to mid-June.

So did you really miss the NBA?  With pro and college football reaching its peak, and the NHL getting some attention for a change, basketball was hardly missed.  Besides, this was a really stupid time for the NBA to go on hiatus after a successful season.  With a struggling economy and millions of people out of work, the problems of millionaires and billionaires didn't amount to a hill of beans.  Even the National Football League figured that out during their recent lockout, which is why they managed to save a full season by coming to an agreement with its players prior to training camp.

But now it's a few weeks of frenzy before the opening tip.  Schedules have to be rewritten.  A truncated free agency period will take place.  A week (or so) of training camp and maybe a preseason game or two.  Then, let the hoopla begin.

Black Thanksgiving

The first known celebration of what has come to be called Thanksgiving was in 1621, when the residents of Plymouth colony (now part of Massachusetts) invited the Wampanoag tribe to share a successful harvest with them.

Since then, future generations of native Americans have been rewarded through death, illness and assimilation, while being forced to leave the land we now sit on and were moved into reservations.  Casino profits notwithstanding, reservations have usually been a hotbed of crime and poverty, with the U.S. government not doing much to improve their situation.

Now Thanksgiving itself, which has been a holiday for as long as the country has existed, and has been immortalized by the likes of Norman Rockwell, has been rendered irrelevant by Christmas.  If it weren't for the novelty of having turkey and football on Thursday, few people would have noticed.

Of course, this isn't exactly breaking news.  Holiday decorations have been up at your local mall since at least Labor Day (another occasion that has lost its relevance due to changing times).  Radio stations have been playing "Jingle Bells" and its ilk 24/7.  And TV commercials featuring Mr. Ho Ho Ho have been running since Halloween.

What's different this year is that Black Friday, which has become the single biggest retail shopping day of the holiday season, has been creeping into Thanksgiving.  Walmart has said it will open Thursday at 10 p.m.  Target says they want to open at midnight.  Their publicity flacks tell us that they're just responding to the wishes of the consumer, who don't want to get up in the middle of the night to pony up for the 50-inch plasma TV that becomes available at 4 a.m. at rock-bottom prices.

But it comes at a cost to the store's employees, who have complained about (and even petitioned against) the idea because they'd be missing Thanksgiving with their families.

It's all quite touching, but retail employees aren't the only ones missing out on the big dinner.  There's hospital staffers, police officers, firefighters, pro football players, the TV crews who cover their games . . . did we leave anyone out?  They'd love to be home with their families, but they have a job to do whether it's a holiday or not.

Besides, the realities of today's retail world almost dictate that stores like Walmart and Target open as soon as the Big Meal is finished.  Those who are too stuffed with mashed potatoes to show up at the mall will simply turn to their computers, where online stores are open 24/7.  When will we have reached the limit?  Who knows?

All of which makes you wonder what generations of native Americans must be thinking, as the white man's greed has pushed aside a day originally designed for Pilgrims to give thanks for merely coexisting with their neighbors during that rough beginning after landing on the Mayflower.

Have a nice Thanksgiving.  Remember, operators are standing by to take your order.

Joe Paterno: Legend Lost

Image via WikipediaJoe Paterno's 46 years as head coach of the Penn State football team came to an abrupt halt Wednesday, caught up in the scandal created by the arrest of his former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky on child molestation charges.  First Paterno announced his retirement, with the intention of coaching the remainder of the Nittany Lions' regular schedule.  But the school's board of trustees wouldn't let him do that, citing his failure to adequately inform higher-ups and law enforcement about the alleged abuse.  They replaced him with Tom Bradley, who takes over on an interim basis.

(For more on the scandal, please see The Bludog Chronicle at http://thebludogchronicle.blogspot.com/.)

Paterno has coached the Nittany Lions since 1966, winning 409 games in his career (more than any other coach) and two national championships.  He is the reason why Penn State joined the Big Ten conference, why Beaver Stadium now seats more than 100,000, why players from all over wanted to play for him, and why (until now) the athletic program was as squeaky clean as the football uniforms.

But Paterno is now 84 years old.  Because of injuries, he recently did his coaching from the press box instead of the sidelines.  Questions have been raised about when and if he should have retired.  Before the scandal, the university couldn't bring itself to tell Paterno to please step aside, partly because students and well-heeled alumni would react badly if they did.

Now it's too late.  Joe Paterno's legacy has come crashing down because he hung around too long, and has come to believe that he was Penn State football.  Then stuff hits the fan.  Nobody knew it would turn out like this.

UPDATE:  Paterno died January 22 at the age of 85, due to complications from lung cancer.  Granted, this is not the way for a coaching legend to go, given his alleged role in the Sandusky scandal.  Instead, this just made things a whole lot murkier.