Staying a Trojan Man

Hats off to Matt Leinart. For those of you who missed it, USC quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart announced on Friday that he will return for his senior season.

There is little doubt that he would have been a top pick, if not number one overall, in the 2005 NFL draft. The financial rewards for coming out early would have been immense. A multi-million dollar contract with a large signing bonus awaits a highly skilled quarterback drafted by a franchise that is desperate to improve. The fact that is lost on the nay sayers is that Leinart is not turning down the big money so much as he is deferring it. All that is promised for the 2005 draft will still be there in 2006.

Unless, the nay sayers continue, he sustains a serious injury as a fifth year senior. Willis McGahee, a running back for the University of Miami, was a sure fire top five pick before sustaining a knee injury during the 2002 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. Because of that injury, his draft position dropped to 23rd overall where the Buffalo Bills picked him. While the chance of injury is a valid consideration, it is also mostly beyond one’s control once the decision to step on the field is made. Luckily for Leinart, the likelihood of injury is much lower playing at USC than it would be in the NFL. He is not a scrambler; he is a passing quarterback who will be defended an offensive line that yielded an average of fewer than two sacks per game during the 2004 season and is returning four of five starters for 2005. As a professional, Leinart would most likely be playing for a struggling franchise such as San Francisco, Miami or Cleveland. These are teams whose woes have been caused at least in part due to an inability to protect the quarterback. Getting creamed by a 350 pound defensive lineman is not part of the path to career longevity for a quarterback who already wears a brace on his right knee. Because NFL contracts are not guaranteed, a career ending injury next season, whether in college or the pros, would have the same financial impact with the exception of any signing bonus. While any such bonus would most likely be in the seven-figure range, Leinart stated that he is quite content with his $950.00 per month in scholarship money and food from the training table.

The other side of the argument is that the lump-sum bonus is worth the risk of injury since Leinart has nothing left to prove as a collegian. Back-to-back national championships and a Heisman Trophy are more than most would dare to even dream of, never mind having actually accomplished such feats. There is more to accomplish, however, and judging by his comments Leinart wants the challenge.

Matt Leinart had a 2004 season that was roughly comparable to 2003. He moved up to fourth on the USC all-time passing list in yardage and second in touchdown passes. At that pace he stands to pass Carson Palmer to move into first for touchdowns (he needs only one to tie) and Rodney Peete and Rob Johnson to move into a solid second for yardage. He also stands to break Palmers Pac-10 record for most games with 200 yards or more passing (31). With each of his starting receivers returning for 2005, there is little reason to believe that his passing statistics will experience a precipitous drop. Those are all enviable accomplishments, but there is a larger goal in mind.

Once the Orange Bowl and a second national title seemed well in hand, the national media began talking about an unprecedented third consecutive title. At Friday’s press conference, Leinart explained his decision in part by saying, “There is something special going on right now that I didn’t want to give up.” A third title would be very special and not at all out of the realm of possibility. As of Friday, the Trojans are returning 15 of 22 starters (they are losing six seniors and junior linebacker Lofa Tatupu who has declared his intention to enter the draft). More importantly, a third title is a team goal. Leinart could have pursued millions of dollars and few would have questioned it given what he has already accomplished, but he opted to remain part of something bigger than himself. Isn’t that refreshing to see in modern sports? I think so. Here’s to Matt Leinart and to his good health.

What's Wrong With the Timberwolves?

A sampling of some of the comments overheard in and around the Target Center following Monday night’s Timberwolves/Lakers game in which the ‘Wolves blew a sixteen point lead and were outscored 38-20 in the fourth quarter enroute to a 105-96 loss; “Hey, Crunch! You need to come off the bench!” “That was the season.” “I guess they missed their window.” “I’m about ready to convert to (being) a Lynx fan.” They weren’t too harsh or even profane, but maybe that’s the bad news.

There seemed to be more of a sense of disillusionment than anger among the ‘Wolves faithful as they filed out into the snowy night. Angry is what they should have been, however. These are fans of a team that had advanced to the Western Conference finals and gave the then mighty Lakers as good as they got before finally succumbing in six games, but had lost six of their last seven. At the beginning of this season, an NBA championship seemed to be a realistic possibility with Kevin Garnett coming off an MVP season and everyone else coming back healthy. They should all be screaming “What went wrong?!?”

The first sign that things were headed South this winter came prior to training camp when Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell (ages 35 and 34 respectively) began publicly complaining about not getting the contract extensions they felt they deserved. They were integral parts of the run to the Western Conference Finals, but this never should have been made public. This is a franchise that has never dealt with turmoil very well. Matters were made much worse just prior to the season opener with Spree’s infamous “I need to feed my family” remark. I can’t think of a time when one of the star players of a team coming off its best season ever has been booed during introductions at the home opener. Way to start things off guys.

Casell and Spreewell must have been looking to cash in on the monster years they had the previous season. I can hardly blame them given their ages. The problem in Cassell’s case is that he has played every bit of 34 and then some this season. While he may be just a shade under his career average of 16.3 points-per-game, his defense had fallen off considerably before straining a hamstring last week against Philadelphia.

Another problem may be one of team chemistry. Last season, there was a revolving door on the Timberwolves training room. In addition to Casell, significant time was missed due to injuries to Troy Hudson and Wally Szczerbiak among others. The team knew it had to pick up the slack and did. The assumption going into this season was that the team would be better with everyone back healthy. Instead it has almost been a case of subtraction by addition. The roster may look the same, but this isn’t the same team that played together last season.

One problem that has carried over from 2003-2004 is the lack of a skilled center. Michael Olowokandi was supposed to be that player, but from the day he has not lived up to expectations from the day he was drafted by the Clippers to today. With his size, attributes and potential “upside,” he should be contributing 8-12 rebounds and 6-10 points per game; instead he is averaging fewer than 5 in each category so far this season. Last season, Coach Flip Saunders had the option of playing either Ervin Johnson or Oliver Miller. This year, Miller is gone and Johnson is another player showing his age. Having turned 37 just before Christmas, it is no wonder he saw only five minutes of action tonight against a much younger Chris Mihm.

Speaking of substitutions, can someone please explain to me why Fred Hoiberg played only five minutes tonight against the Lakers? He is nearly three minutes below his career average while leading the league in three-point field goal percentage. The Lakers made more threes than the ‘Wolves shot (16 of 35 versus 5 of 14). Hoiberg’s presence on the floor would have provided an answer to the Lakers’ long-range attack when the game turned into a one sided shoot-out in the fourth quarter. Instead, three-point shooting duties were left primarily to Troy Hudson who is again showing signs of injury.

Whatever the problems, they need to be fixed soon. Teams like the Lakers of the Shaq/Kobe era may be able to lie in the weeds until playoff time and then “turn it on,” but this Timberwolves team doesn’t have that kind of experience. It will be interesting to see what personnel moves are made as the deadline nears. This is a team in dire need of a shakeup and it has to happen now before “Our Team. Our Time.” turns into rebuilding time.

The Stealth Story in Sports 2004

January is named for Janus, the mythological Roman god of doors. Janus was a god with two faces; one face for each side of a door. The Romans selected this particular god to be representative of the first month of the year because for them, January represented not only a new beginning to look forward to, but also a time to look back and reflect. In honor of the myth of Janus, this first column is dedicated to a look back at the most significant event in sports during 2004.

The most significant event in the world of sports is so far off everyone’s RADAR that once you read what it is your reaction will probably be something along the lines of “Oh yeah. I’d completely forgotten about that.” The National Hockey League player lockout that has resulted in the cancellation of half of the 2004-2005 schedule may well overshadow the Red Sox’ World Series victory as the most significant story of the year.

One may ask how a story that gets next to no coverage in the major American media can be considered important, let alone the most significant of the year. Within that very proposition lies the answer. Each side of the dispute stands to lose millions of dollars as each day passes without the skates being laced up and the arenas being filled yet there has been a grand total of one negotiating session since the lockout began. Hockey has tried desperately to narrow the gap between it and the three other major sports in the United States, but if an agreement is not reached within the next two weeks it will become the first of the four to cancel an entire season. What should be most alarming to both sides, and die-hard NHL fans, is the complete lack of coverage. If there were a similar situation in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, or even the National Basketball Association, the hue and cry from fans and the media would be immeasurable by comparison. President Clinton was asked to intervene during the 1994 baseball strike while the current impasse in the NHL is buried on the back pages of America’s sports sections if it is covered at all.

Any agreement will alter the face of the NHL. Overall player salaries are guaranteed to decrease. Cancellation of the season could lead to the folding of some of the less financially sound franchises as there have been reports that some owners are actually making more money (which could also simply mean losing less) by not putting teams on the ice. More importantly, any chance of the NHL narrowing the popularity gap between it and the other three major leagues in the near term has been dashed. Fans will be slow to return to NHL arenas if they return at all. Many a baseball stadium sat half empty from 1995 until the McGuire/Sosa home run derby of 1998. If the American sports fan is willing to turn its back on the American pastime in the aftermath of a labor dispute, hockey will suffer the same fate with much more dire consequences. Hear that echo? That is the sound of a pin dropping in Philips Arena during a 2005-2006 game between the Atlanta Thrashers and the Carolina Hurricanes.

Given the lack of coverage and the questionable popularity of the sport, one might expect the overall impact on the sporting world to also be negligible. Alternatives are easy to find during the first half of the NHL season with college and pro football in full swing and pro and college hoops just starting up. The impact will be in the abject lesson the situation could serve as for the other major sports…particularly Major League Baseball. Baseball and hockey share many similarities in their structure and cultural positions. Each is traditionally regarded as a national sport although the football has surpassed baseball in the United States and lacrosse is Canada’s official national sport. The professional rosters of each sport are predominately populated with comparatively young athletes, many in their teens, who came up through the minor leagues rather than the college system. Most importantly, neither has a true salary cap.

NHL owners held a hard line on their demand for a salary cap turning down the Players Association offer of a 24% reduction in salaries. The players’ offer sounds pretty generous until one considers that nearly 80% of league revenues are dedicated to player salaries. Should the current impasse result in either the implementation of some sort of salary cap, or the implosion of the league, the end result will be that Major League Baseball will be the only major professional league without a salary cap of some kind. The effect on baseball’s competitive balance cannot be denied. Even with the implementation of the so-called luxury tax, the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox boasted the league’s second highest payroll. Currently, Boston, the Yankees and the Anaheim Angels have surpassed the luxury tax threshold. It is not a coincidence that these three teams have combined to win six of the past ten World Series. Parity in the NFL is one of the major factors that have helped football surpass baseball as the favorite among sports fans in the United States. Baseball can survive more fiscal insanity than hockey, but probably not for much longer. We have already witnessed the threatened contraction of two franchises and the first relocation of a franchise in over thirty years. Only a salary cap will narrow financial and competitive disparity we now see. As the goodwill generated in 1998 dissipates, baseball needs to take notice of what is happening in the NHL in order to restore competitive balance and return it to the level of popularity it once enjoyed. The NHL lockout highlights this need and demonstrates the consequences if baseball does not take heed. What could be more significant than the fate of professional sports as we know them?