We're getting ready for a crazy week here at Cumulus Media and ESPN Radio 100.3 'The Team'. We will have coverage of CCU and the Big South Tournament, and USC and the SEC Tournament. Plus we have NBA Playoffs coverage and a new partnership begins this weekend here in Myrtle Beach!
"The Drive" with Aaron Marks is going to take a break this week. We're on live for 2 hours on Monday and that's it for our live shows this week. Post-Season Baseball gets the nod over our daily show, plus Aaron is celebrating a birthday with friends and family coming to town so he will be taking a long weekend. We will bring you a best of show or two throughout the week with some of our recent outstanding interviews, but for the most part we'll have coverage of the Big South and SEC Baseball Tournaments.
It's always good to get some time every few months to catch a break and get away. It helps the show as well! We'll work on a new intro, some new daily segments, and prepare for the transition from College Baseball/Spring Football to summer MLB and Football pre-season. Thanks for understanding and following Monday the 21st we will be back on the air for a live show on Tuesday May 29th.
Here is how the week is shaping up right now. Come back to this blog for updated scheduling as the tournaments progress forward:
Monday:
The Drive (This is our only live 2 hour show of the week) 4-6 p.m.
Tuesday:
Approximately 1:30 - 5:00: CCU Baseball in the 1st round of the Big South Tournament against Charleston Southern
Approximately 4:30 - 6:00: Best of "The Drive" with Matt Parris and Justin the Intern
FOX Sports 1050/101.9
Pelicans Baseball- 6:50 p.m.
Wednesday:
ESPN:
If CCU Wins on Tuesday... Broadcast begins at 4:20 in the 2nd Round of Big South, Game time is 4:30
The Drive will not air
If CCU Loses on Tuesday... Broadcast begins at 9:20 a.m., Game time is 9:30.
Best of Edition of "The Drive" will air with Matt Parris and Justin the Intern will air from 4-6 in this situation.
USC Baseball, 2nd round coverage of SEC Tournament, Broadcast begins at 8:45. First pitch is at 9:00.
FOX:
Pelicans Baseball- 6:50 p.m.
Thursday:
ESPN
If CCU wins both games to this point... no broadcast scheduled
If CCU loses 1 game and wins the other (doesn't matter which order), Broadcast begins at 2:50, Game time is 3:00.
If USC Wins on Wed. night... Broadcast begins at 8:45, first pitch is at 9:00.
If USC loses on Wed. Night... Broadcast begins at 5:15 on FOX if CCU is playing, on ESPN if CCU is not playing. Game time is 5:30 p.m.
Best of Edition of "The Drive" will air with Matt Parris and Justin the Intern if time allows between 4 and 6.
7:00 p.m. Coverage of the NBA Playoffs Game 6 between Miami vs. Indiana. We will provide coverage when available depending on SEC Baseball Tournament
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We have a new partnership with a pro sports team we are announcing. We have coverage of the semis and championship of the Big South and SEC tournaments. We have full coverage of the NBA Playoffs. Come back to this blog later in the week to see the entire schedule.
Everyone have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend and enjoy Bike Week if that's your thing. We'll be blogging and posting articles all week long. Top 10 College Games of the MIDWEST will release this Thursday on www.myrsports.com
Aaron Marks is the Sports Director for ESPN Radio 100.3 and FOX Sports Radio 1050/101.9 in Myrtle Beach, SC. He is the host of "The Drive" which airs daily from 4-6 p.m. on ESPN 100.3.
Follow Aaron on Twitter @AMonFM
Monday, May 21, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Final day of the regular season!
Today is the final day of the college baseball regular season, and there is plenty riding on the line for teams from Baton Rouge to Blacksburg. Some teams are playing for the number one seed in their conference tournaments and some are just trying to get into the tournament.
So here are today's situations for the SEC, Big South, and ACC that you need to be listening and watching for...
BIG SOUTH
Let's start with the Big South because its pretty simple. Coastal Carolina locked in the #1 seed in the tournament yesterday for the 6th consecutive season by winning game one over Charleston Southern. They added to their RPI by winning game two and look to finish off the series sweep today. Coach Gary Gilmore sat his star catcher Tucker Frawley in game two, Tyler Herb pitched limited innings in game one, so the Chants are certainly in post-season preparation mode. But who will they play on Tuesday and what time...
High Point is playing for their post-season lives. The conference tournament is on a rotation basis and this year it hits High Point which increases the pressure today. Winthrop and High Point are closing out the season playing for the #8 seed. Only 8 teams make the conference tournament and Presbyterian is ineligible for the post season this year in conference play. If High Point wins today's finale, they are in. And as the host team they get the feature 8:00 game on Tuesday night. So that means CCU would play host High Point in the #1 vs. #8 match up on Tuesday. So #8 gets to host? That's the way it works sometimes. If Winthrop wins then CCU will play Winthrop on Tuesday at 4:30 when the #1 vs. #8 game is currently planned. Last time the two teams met was what turned out to be the final game at Watson Stadium last Saturday and Winthrop got the win. CCU doesn't care who they get, they just want to play some baseball. And as the station Sports Director, I just want to know if I have a show on Tuesday or not!
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
On to the SEC which has CRAZY story lines going today. The Gamecocks could be the #1 overall seed, or as low as the #4 seed. Here's the situation...
The #1 and #2 seeds go to the two division winners based on conference winning percentage, NOT the two best teams but as it turns out its going to likely work out that way. Seeds #3-#10 are based purely on overall winning percentage, doesn't matter what division you play in or what your division record is! But those things typically co-relate. So here are the top four seeds and how things work today:
As I said, USC is overall #1 with a .643 conference winning percentage right now. Kentucky and Florida are a 1/2 game back with a .621 winning percentage. So the Eastern Division is intense today on the final day of the season. Before I get into those details... what about the West? It's done. LSU is at worst the #2 seed, but they get the #1 seed if they beat USC tonight. Either way they get a bye and will not play on Tuesday. They are three games ahead of 2nd place Arkansas.
So back to the East. If USC wins today they are the #1 seed in the tournament. Simple. Easy. Just Win Baby. If they lose... things get very interesting because they could still be #2, #3 or #4. They want to be #1 or #2 because in a 10 team tournament that's one less day and one less game you have to play to win the conference. Also if you win the SEC Regular Season title there is no way you don't get one of the eight national seeds with home field advantage all the way through to Omaha. Is that important? Last year 6 of the 8 College World Series teams were national seeds.
A loss today for USC plus a loss for UK against Mississippi State (UK is reeling. They have gone from regular season champion to having lost 3 in a row to Murray State and Mississippi State so if they don't make something happen in the next week they will not be a national seed), and a loss for Florida who is playing Auburn, will leave USC as the #2 seed. If either of those teams win, then they pass USC. So one of them winning makes USC the #3 seed. Both of them winning means USC is the #4 seed. Crazy stuff.
How about the bottom of the standings? Anyone playing their way in? Nope. Tennessee and Alabama will not make the SEC tournament. So everyone else is just playing for seeding today.
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
And finally on to the last conference we cover in Myrtle Beach... the ACC. Let's talk about the format first. This is why people either love or hate college athletics. Conferences can't even agree on a similar format. The NCAA Tournament doesn't even play the same format in each section. It goes from a four team double elimination pod in round one, to a best of 3 between two team Super Regional, to a double elimination eight team college world series.
So the Big South is an 8 team double elimination, just like the College World Series. What a concept. Why doesn't everyone just do that? Who knows. The SEC plays a 10 team format with #1 and #2 getting byes on day one. It it double elimination from Tuesday - Friday, but once you get to the semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday it becomes single elimination. And then there's the ACC. The ACC is a 12 team conference with two 6 team divisions, just like the SEC. The ACC allows 8 teams in, like the SEC used to do until this year, and like the Big South currently does. The eight teams are seeded #1-#8. But then they are divided up into two four team pods that do not play double elimination like the 1st round of the World Series, but play a Round Robin tournament so that everyone gets three games. And the confusion doesn't stop there. Pod one is seeds #1, #4, #5, and #8. Pod two is seeds #2, #3, #6, and #7. If you can follow the NCAA Rules handbook... then it makes sense! AND these 8 seeds are not the overall 8 seeds in the conference but they are the top 4 seeds from each division, then re-seeded 1-8 based on winning percentage. I get that the ACC has a lot of schools that are difficult to get into academically, but are they trying to confuse everyone who struggled with math in school? Stop letting the Engineers at Virginia Tech come up with your post season format! Ask a guy from Tuscaloosa. He'll come up with something we can all understand... and then he'll poison your trees that have been in your family for 9 generations.
Concerning seeds, #1 will be Florida State. #2 will be North Carolina. But the Tar Heels are the hottest team in America riding a 12-game winning streak into the final day of the regular season. Let me see a show of hands for who wants to play those guys right now. AND the tournament is in Greensboro. Which leads to two random thoughts real quick...
1) Wasn't the tournament supposed to be in Myrtle Beach at the Pelicans Stadium? Oh yea it was... but the NAACP got involved and was going to boycott it because the state of SC has not removed the confederate flag from the State House grounds. So goodbye tens of thousands in revenue for our servers, hoteliers, and that balloon guy I saw at the Outback last night (I'm being serious with that one, my wife and I declined the balloon animal because we're older than 12 and wanted to spend our money on Skinny Margaritas for her, and Stella Artois for me). But this is for a whole other column that will probably come... next week!
2) Didn't FSU's president say a good reason to leave the ACC was that it was to North Carolina-centric? I'm sure he's not thrilled about his #1 Seminoles traveling to Greensboro to try to win this tournament.
Outside of the top seeds... Maryland, BC and Duke are out. There is one story line to watch and that is Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech who are deadlocked for the #8 overall seed, and 4th place in the Coastal Division. Virginia Tech has the upper hand because their overall record is significantly better. So if the Hokies win today, they are in. If they lose but GT also loses to Miami (which has happened the last two days) they are in.
Come back to this blog tomorrow and I'll have the seeding's and game times for all three conference tournaments!
Aaron Marks is the Sports Director for ESPN Radio 100.3 The Team in Myrtle Beach, SC and the host of "The Drive" which airs daily from 4-6 p.m.
Follow Aaron on Twitter @AMonFM, follow his station @1003theteam
So here are today's situations for the SEC, Big South, and ACC that you need to be listening and watching for...
BIG SOUTH
Let's start with the Big South because its pretty simple. Coastal Carolina locked in the #1 seed in the tournament yesterday for the 6th consecutive season by winning game one over Charleston Southern. They added to their RPI by winning game two and look to finish off the series sweep today. Coach Gary Gilmore sat his star catcher Tucker Frawley in game two, Tyler Herb pitched limited innings in game one, so the Chants are certainly in post-season preparation mode. But who will they play on Tuesday and what time...
High Point is playing for their post-season lives. The conference tournament is on a rotation basis and this year it hits High Point which increases the pressure today. Winthrop and High Point are closing out the season playing for the #8 seed. Only 8 teams make the conference tournament and Presbyterian is ineligible for the post season this year in conference play. If High Point wins today's finale, they are in. And as the host team they get the feature 8:00 game on Tuesday night. So that means CCU would play host High Point in the #1 vs. #8 match up on Tuesday. So #8 gets to host? That's the way it works sometimes. If Winthrop wins then CCU will play Winthrop on Tuesday at 4:30 when the #1 vs. #8 game is currently planned. Last time the two teams met was what turned out to be the final game at Watson Stadium last Saturday and Winthrop got the win. CCU doesn't care who they get, they just want to play some baseball. And as the station Sports Director, I just want to know if I have a show on Tuesday or not!
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
On to the SEC which has CRAZY story lines going today. The Gamecocks could be the #1 overall seed, or as low as the #4 seed. Here's the situation...
The #1 and #2 seeds go to the two division winners based on conference winning percentage, NOT the two best teams but as it turns out its going to likely work out that way. Seeds #3-#10 are based purely on overall winning percentage, doesn't matter what division you play in or what your division record is! But those things typically co-relate. So here are the top four seeds and how things work today:
As I said, USC is overall #1 with a .643 conference winning percentage right now. Kentucky and Florida are a 1/2 game back with a .621 winning percentage. So the Eastern Division is intense today on the final day of the season. Before I get into those details... what about the West? It's done. LSU is at worst the #2 seed, but they get the #1 seed if they beat USC tonight. Either way they get a bye and will not play on Tuesday. They are three games ahead of 2nd place Arkansas.
So back to the East. If USC wins today they are the #1 seed in the tournament. Simple. Easy. Just Win Baby. If they lose... things get very interesting because they could still be #2, #3 or #4. They want to be #1 or #2 because in a 10 team tournament that's one less day and one less game you have to play to win the conference. Also if you win the SEC Regular Season title there is no way you don't get one of the eight national seeds with home field advantage all the way through to Omaha. Is that important? Last year 6 of the 8 College World Series teams were national seeds.
A loss today for USC plus a loss for UK against Mississippi State (UK is reeling. They have gone from regular season champion to having lost 3 in a row to Murray State and Mississippi State so if they don't make something happen in the next week they will not be a national seed), and a loss for Florida who is playing Auburn, will leave USC as the #2 seed. If either of those teams win, then they pass USC. So one of them winning makes USC the #3 seed. Both of them winning means USC is the #4 seed. Crazy stuff.
How about the bottom of the standings? Anyone playing their way in? Nope. Tennessee and Alabama will not make the SEC tournament. So everyone else is just playing for seeding today.
ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE
And finally on to the last conference we cover in Myrtle Beach... the ACC. Let's talk about the format first. This is why people either love or hate college athletics. Conferences can't even agree on a similar format. The NCAA Tournament doesn't even play the same format in each section. It goes from a four team double elimination pod in round one, to a best of 3 between two team Super Regional, to a double elimination eight team college world series.
So the Big South is an 8 team double elimination, just like the College World Series. What a concept. Why doesn't everyone just do that? Who knows. The SEC plays a 10 team format with #1 and #2 getting byes on day one. It it double elimination from Tuesday - Friday, but once you get to the semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday it becomes single elimination. And then there's the ACC. The ACC is a 12 team conference with two 6 team divisions, just like the SEC. The ACC allows 8 teams in, like the SEC used to do until this year, and like the Big South currently does. The eight teams are seeded #1-#8. But then they are divided up into two four team pods that do not play double elimination like the 1st round of the World Series, but play a Round Robin tournament so that everyone gets three games. And the confusion doesn't stop there. Pod one is seeds #1, #4, #5, and #8. Pod two is seeds #2, #3, #6, and #7. If you can follow the NCAA Rules handbook... then it makes sense! AND these 8 seeds are not the overall 8 seeds in the conference but they are the top 4 seeds from each division, then re-seeded 1-8 based on winning percentage. I get that the ACC has a lot of schools that are difficult to get into academically, but are they trying to confuse everyone who struggled with math in school? Stop letting the Engineers at Virginia Tech come up with your post season format! Ask a guy from Tuscaloosa. He'll come up with something we can all understand... and then he'll poison your trees that have been in your family for 9 generations.
Concerning seeds, #1 will be Florida State. #2 will be North Carolina. But the Tar Heels are the hottest team in America riding a 12-game winning streak into the final day of the regular season. Let me see a show of hands for who wants to play those guys right now. AND the tournament is in Greensboro. Which leads to two random thoughts real quick...
1) Wasn't the tournament supposed to be in Myrtle Beach at the Pelicans Stadium? Oh yea it was... but the NAACP got involved and was going to boycott it because the state of SC has not removed the confederate flag from the State House grounds. So goodbye tens of thousands in revenue for our servers, hoteliers, and that balloon guy I saw at the Outback last night (I'm being serious with that one, my wife and I declined the balloon animal because we're older than 12 and wanted to spend our money on Skinny Margaritas for her, and Stella Artois for me). But this is for a whole other column that will probably come... next week!
2) Didn't FSU's president say a good reason to leave the ACC was that it was to North Carolina-centric? I'm sure he's not thrilled about his #1 Seminoles traveling to Greensboro to try to win this tournament.
Outside of the top seeds... Maryland, BC and Duke are out. There is one story line to watch and that is Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech who are deadlocked for the #8 overall seed, and 4th place in the Coastal Division. Virginia Tech has the upper hand because their overall record is significantly better. So if the Hokies win today, they are in. If they lose but GT also loses to Miami (which has happened the last two days) they are in.
Come back to this blog tomorrow and I'll have the seeding's and game times for all three conference tournaments!
Aaron Marks is the Sports Director for ESPN Radio 100.3 The Team in Myrtle Beach, SC and the host of "The Drive" which airs daily from 4-6 p.m.
Follow Aaron on Twitter @AMonFM, follow his station @1003theteam
Friday, May 18, 2012
ESPN 100.3/FOX Sports 1050 On Air Schedule this weekend
Coastal Carolina and USC are playing their final games of the regular season this weekend. Plus we've got coverage of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the NBA Playoffs and Major League Baseball.
Next week we will be in the midst of post-season action in college baseball so come back to this blog for the latest updates on game times and when your favorite teams can be heard on the air in this critical time of year...
Friday May 18
Coastal Carolina Baseball Double Header vs. Charleston Southern. Game 1: 11:30 a.m., Pregame show begins at 11:20 a.m.
Game 2 will follow 30 minutes after Game 1. ESPN 100.3 will bring you a college baseball scoreboard update in between the games. Game 2 will begin at approximately 3:00 p.m.
Both games will air on ESPN Radio 100.3 The Team
The Drive with Aaron Marks will NOT air today. Aaron will bring you an NCAA Baseball score board report for about 20 minutes in between games to keep you up to date on the Big South, SEC, and ACC action around the country as we get ready for conference tournament week.
South Carolina Gamecocks Double Header vs. LSU. Game 1: 2:30 p.m., Pregame show begins at 2:15 p.m. Game broadcast will air on FOX Sports 1050/101.9
Game 2 begins at 7:00 p.m., pregame show at 6:45. Game 2 will air on ESPN Radio 100.3 The Team. IF CCU is still playing we will join USC in progress at the conclusion of the Chanticleers match up.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans play at Wilmington tonight at 7:05 p.m., pregame at 6:50 p.m. and will air on FOX Sports 1050/101.9
Saturday May 19
ESPN 100.3 The Team:
9:00 - 11:00 a.m.: The Inside Pitch with Bonecrusher Chris
1:50 p.m.: Coastal Carolina Baseball vs. Charleston Southern, Last game of the regular season
6:45 p.m.: South Carolina Gamecocks vs. LSU, Last game of the regular season
9:30 p.m.: NBA Playoffs, Oklahoma City vs. L.A. Lakers (will join in progress following USC)
FOX Sports 1050/101.9:
6:45 p.m.: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball
Sunday May 20
ESPN 100.3 The Team:
2:30 p.m.: NBA Playoffs, Miami Heat @ Indiana Pacers
7:00 p.m.: MLB Sunday Night Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals @ L.A. Dodgers
FOX Sports 1050/101.9
1:20 p.m.: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball
*Next week the schedule will be crazy. As soon as we know game times we will update them on this blog post. Follow us on Twitter @1003theteam, www.facebook.com/teammyrtlebeach, or www.myrsports.com for all the latest details in programming.
Next week we will be in the midst of post-season action in college baseball so come back to this blog for the latest updates on game times and when your favorite teams can be heard on the air in this critical time of year...
Friday May 18
Coastal Carolina Baseball Double Header vs. Charleston Southern. Game 1: 11:30 a.m., Pregame show begins at 11:20 a.m.
Game 2 will follow 30 minutes after Game 1. ESPN 100.3 will bring you a college baseball scoreboard update in between the games. Game 2 will begin at approximately 3:00 p.m.
Both games will air on ESPN Radio 100.3 The Team
The Drive with Aaron Marks will NOT air today. Aaron will bring you an NCAA Baseball score board report for about 20 minutes in between games to keep you up to date on the Big South, SEC, and ACC action around the country as we get ready for conference tournament week.
South Carolina Gamecocks Double Header vs. LSU. Game 1: 2:30 p.m., Pregame show begins at 2:15 p.m. Game broadcast will air on FOX Sports 1050/101.9
Game 2 begins at 7:00 p.m., pregame show at 6:45. Game 2 will air on ESPN Radio 100.3 The Team. IF CCU is still playing we will join USC in progress at the conclusion of the Chanticleers match up.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans play at Wilmington tonight at 7:05 p.m., pregame at 6:50 p.m. and will air on FOX Sports 1050/101.9
Saturday May 19
ESPN 100.3 The Team:
9:00 - 11:00 a.m.: The Inside Pitch with Bonecrusher Chris
1:50 p.m.: Coastal Carolina Baseball vs. Charleston Southern, Last game of the regular season
6:45 p.m.: South Carolina Gamecocks vs. LSU, Last game of the regular season
9:30 p.m.: NBA Playoffs, Oklahoma City vs. L.A. Lakers (will join in progress following USC)
FOX Sports 1050/101.9:
6:45 p.m.: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball
Sunday May 20
ESPN 100.3 The Team:
2:30 p.m.: NBA Playoffs, Miami Heat @ Indiana Pacers
7:00 p.m.: MLB Sunday Night Baseball, St. Louis Cardinals @ L.A. Dodgers
FOX Sports 1050/101.9
1:20 p.m.: Myrtle Beach Pelicans Baseball
*Next week the schedule will be crazy. As soon as we know game times we will update them on this blog post. Follow us on Twitter @1003theteam, www.facebook.com/teammyrtlebeach, or www.myrsports.com for all the latest details in programming.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Don't overthink Saints suspensions... it's very simple
Today we finally got the news. We waited for the schedule to be released. We waited for Coach Sean Payton to say his goodbyes. We even waited for the Draft to finish up before the New Orleans Saints found out the fate of their players most heavily involved in the Bounty Gate scheme orchestrated by former defensive coordinator Greg Williams. And today we got answers...
Jonathon Vilma... done for the season without pay.
Anthony Hargrove... 8 games. He doesn't even play for the Saints anymore. Neither does Scott Fujita who is suspended for three games. And current Saint Will Smith is banned 4 games. I just called Will Smith a Saint. That's ironic.
Certain words come to mind immediately. Ouch. Damn. That sucks (ok phrases come to mind). But are you really surprised? I'm not. Are you ticked off? You shouldn't be. Do you think it's too much? It's not. And all of these suspensions including Head Coach Sean Payton, former defensive coordinator Greg Williams, and GM Mickey Loomis have very little to do with bounties.
What did Aaron just say? This has nothing to do with bounties and hurting players?
Yes that's correct. I even underlined it for you!
The players and coaches did not get the hammer laid down because they were trying to hurt guys. Everyone in the NFL is trying to hurt the other player. There is nothing better for a defensive player than a pancake lay the other guy flat out on the field kind of hit. And if that other guy doesn't get up? Even better. You did your job and then some. That was called an A+ in grade school.
Everyone who wants to whine about 'where's the proof?', and 'why did they get more than spygate?' doesn't get it. These suspensions are about obeying the law and respecting the request of an authoritative figure. Think about this for a moment...
You're driving down the interstate. The speed limit is 55 but you're doing 65. And so are the other 900 cars around you. You all blow past a state trooper. How many get pulled over? None. All is well and everyone is moving along evenly. But then that guy comes blasting through doing 70 weaving in and out of cars. On come the siren and lights and a court date is issued. Why did that guy get pulled? Because he took a little lead way that was offered and ran crazy with it. Get it?
That's the New Orleans Saints. Do guys on other teams try to hurt you and hit you as hard as possible? Yes! Were there cash kitties and small wagers going on around the league for guys who accomplished something first in a game or season? Absolutely. The NFL is full of the most ego driven athletes in the world. They are always trying to one up each other. But then the New Orleans Saints went and took this game that the front office was allowing everyone to play at an equal level and blew it up. They did 90 through a field of cars travelling 55 in a 45.
AND THE STATE TROOPER TRIED TO LET THEM OFF WITH A WARNING!
Roger Goodell knew this was going on. He told the Saints to stop. Not only did they not stop but they hid it from him. They did not disclose all the details when asked directly about it. So put yourself in Goodells shoes. You know someone is breaking the rules and you have given them a warning to stop. It's like you tell your kid to stop kicking the back of your seat while driving. It's funny the first few times. Then Dad is screaming at the top of his lungs and little Johnny is going to bed without dinner. Did Johnny deserve to not get fed just for kicking the back of Dad's seat? All kids kick the back of the seat. That doesn't seem right. But Dad told him to stop and it ended on a breaking point. The Saints (little Johnny) and Goodell (Dad) hit their breaking point. And not only will Jonathon Vilma not get dinner. He can't leave his room. For twelve months.
And Jonathon Vilma isn't little Johnny. Neither is Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis or anyone else involved. They are adults. They knew they shouldn't be doing this. They were told not to do this. And yet they still did it. So if Goodell feels like he has to treat everyone like children and throw some weight around, so be it! Maybe these guys will finally grow up now that they have been smacked down by the league.
So don't think these suspensions have anything to do with bounties or hurting players. They have everything to do with observing the status quo, listening to an authoritative figure and doing what your told. And not pissing off Dad.
Jonathon Vilma... done for the season without pay.
Anthony Hargrove... 8 games. He doesn't even play for the Saints anymore. Neither does Scott Fujita who is suspended for three games. And current Saint Will Smith is banned 4 games. I just called Will Smith a Saint. That's ironic.
Certain words come to mind immediately. Ouch. Damn. That sucks (ok phrases come to mind). But are you really surprised? I'm not. Are you ticked off? You shouldn't be. Do you think it's too much? It's not. And all of these suspensions including Head Coach Sean Payton, former defensive coordinator Greg Williams, and GM Mickey Loomis have very little to do with bounties.
What did Aaron just say? This has nothing to do with bounties and hurting players?
Yes that's correct. I even underlined it for you!
The players and coaches did not get the hammer laid down because they were trying to hurt guys. Everyone in the NFL is trying to hurt the other player. There is nothing better for a defensive player than a pancake lay the other guy flat out on the field kind of hit. And if that other guy doesn't get up? Even better. You did your job and then some. That was called an A+ in grade school.
Everyone who wants to whine about 'where's the proof?', and 'why did they get more than spygate?' doesn't get it. These suspensions are about obeying the law and respecting the request of an authoritative figure. Think about this for a moment...
You're driving down the interstate. The speed limit is 55 but you're doing 65. And so are the other 900 cars around you. You all blow past a state trooper. How many get pulled over? None. All is well and everyone is moving along evenly. But then that guy comes blasting through doing 70 weaving in and out of cars. On come the siren and lights and a court date is issued. Why did that guy get pulled? Because he took a little lead way that was offered and ran crazy with it. Get it?
That's the New Orleans Saints. Do guys on other teams try to hurt you and hit you as hard as possible? Yes! Were there cash kitties and small wagers going on around the league for guys who accomplished something first in a game or season? Absolutely. The NFL is full of the most ego driven athletes in the world. They are always trying to one up each other. But then the New Orleans Saints went and took this game that the front office was allowing everyone to play at an equal level and blew it up. They did 90 through a field of cars travelling 55 in a 45.
AND THE STATE TROOPER TRIED TO LET THEM OFF WITH A WARNING!
Roger Goodell knew this was going on. He told the Saints to stop. Not only did they not stop but they hid it from him. They did not disclose all the details when asked directly about it. So put yourself in Goodells shoes. You know someone is breaking the rules and you have given them a warning to stop. It's like you tell your kid to stop kicking the back of your seat while driving. It's funny the first few times. Then Dad is screaming at the top of his lungs and little Johnny is going to bed without dinner. Did Johnny deserve to not get fed just for kicking the back of Dad's seat? All kids kick the back of the seat. That doesn't seem right. But Dad told him to stop and it ended on a breaking point. The Saints (little Johnny) and Goodell (Dad) hit their breaking point. And not only will Jonathon Vilma not get dinner. He can't leave his room. For twelve months.
And Jonathon Vilma isn't little Johnny. Neither is Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis or anyone else involved. They are adults. They knew they shouldn't be doing this. They were told not to do this. And yet they still did it. So if Goodell feels like he has to treat everyone like children and throw some weight around, so be it! Maybe these guys will finally grow up now that they have been smacked down by the league.
So don't think these suspensions have anything to do with bounties or hurting players. They have everything to do with observing the status quo, listening to an authoritative figure and doing what your told. And not pissing off Dad.
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