Mark Knudson’s Three Strikes Blog – 1/5/19

Mark Knudson’s Three Strikes Blog – 1/5/19

Mark Knudson’s Three Strikes Blog
BY MARK KNUDSON @MarkKnudson41
You’ve chosen to return for another edition of the Three Strikes Sports Blog…thanks…and I hope it’s worth it…
STRIKE ONE: Monday night Alabama and Clemson meet/met again in the title game of the College Football Play-off. Excuse me if I’m not quivering with excitement. This is the fourth meeting in the past four seasons between these two, and it’s gotten stale – like LeBron v Golden State Warriors stale. It’s another rerun. Yes, it’s the two best teams, yada yada yada. It’s still Goliath v Goliath. I’m over it. Boring. Sorry.
If this was an annual regular season meeting in November, it would be much different – it’d be a rivalry game. Those are fantastic in the regular season. But not in the ultimate championship every year. I’d rather see ‘Bama v LSU, right? Texas v Oklahoma. Or Ohio State v Michigan. Ironically, if ‘Bama and Clemson were in the same conference (down south at least) they might actually play LESS often.
If Clemson were in the SEC, they’d be in the SEC East, with Georgia and Florida. They’d face Alabama about once every five years. Really.
Example: Georgia was a power again this season (although they lost to the best three teams they played…just sayin’) and they ended up losing to Alabama in the SEC title game after losing in the national title game last season. That’s the only way these two schools would play two seasons in a row.
Perhaps this is indicative of the problem with SEC scheduling: ‘Bama and Georgia playing two straight posts-season games marked only the third and fourth time these two conference “rivals” have played each other in the past DECADE. Starting with a meeting in Tuscaloosa in 2007, Alabama and Georgia have met exactly TWO TIMES (again in 2015) in the regular season. TWO.
During that same time period, Alabama has played Chattanooga and Western Kentucky THREE times, and Arkansas State and Kent State twice – the same number of times they faced their conference “rival.”
Let’s face it, if they didn’t play in the SEC title game, we wouldn’t know that Alabama and Georgia were even in the same conference. SEC scheduling (only eight conference games, not nine like all the other power five conferences) that includes their one week of November cupcakes is a bogus deal for college football and contributes to the conference getting two teams into the play-off as they did last season. That needs to change. Soon.

STRIKE TWO: I’ve long been critical of fans voting for professional All-star teams. It’s a crock. People try to tell me, “Hey, it’s and exhibition game for the fans, who cares?” I’ll tell you who: The players, agents and management. Therefore, you should, too.
Many MANY players have clauses in their contracts that provide them bonuses for making the All-Star team. When a player goes out and busts his tail – for the team you cheer for – and has an All-Star worthy performance – then gets shunned because of an uneducated popularity contest vote, it makes a sham of the system. Forget the game itself. If a player earns a reward, he should get that reward. We all value all-out effort, right?
The first round of fan voting results for the upcoming NBA All-Star game confirms this…AGAIN. The Western Conference “frontcourt” is dominated the usual names: LeBron, Kevin Durant, Paul George and Anthony Davis. Down there at number SEVEN is the best center in the West, Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. SEVENTH. He’s behind Steven Adams of Oklahoma City (6th) and Dallas rookie Luka Doncic (2nd!) Anyone who has watched basketball this season knows that Jokic should be a slam dunk All-Star pick.
Still think fans should have a vote? How about this factoid: In the first results released, 90,000 + morons voted for DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins of Golden State (He’s 10th)…even though Boogie has not played a single minute in a game this season. NOT ONE.
That alone makes the fan voting a complete joke. It should be abolished immediately.
Also, the Nuggets Jamal Murray, who’s been inconsistent but also outstanding, especially in the clutch, isn’t in the top ten among “backcourt” players. It’s very true the players like Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook and James Harden belong among the elite, but explain how Derrick Rose is SECOND, DeMar DeRozan (clearly not better than Murray this season) is 6th and …try not to laugh…Lonzo Ball is 8th. (Maybe Dad is stuffing the ballot box?)
The West has a lot of good guards, but come on. Murray should be an All-Star. The team with the best record in the West deserves to have two guys on the roster.
Hopefully justice can be served in some manner. Clearly the fan voting is just the opposite of justice.
STRIKE THREE: Here we are in the second week of January and Major League Baseball’s biggest fish free agents are still unsigned. Makes you wonder what’s up?
When I was playing in the mid 1980’s, MLB owners were found guilty of collusion in an industry-wide effort to suppress player salaries. After the court ruled in favor of the players, things opened back up and the game saw skyrocketing free agent deals for many many years (although I missed out on that somehow…???)
This time it’s different. This time the problem isn’t the owners. This time, it’s a failure on the part of the players/agents to adapt to a different landscape.
Players like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado aren’t asking for yearly salaries that are out of sight (okay, that’s relative) compared to what’s already out there. Instead, they’re asking for long-term deals that guarantee that kind of astronomical paycheck for a full decade! Harper thinks he should be getting a contract for 10 or even 12 years. That makes no sense to anyone but him (and Scott Boras.)
Harper is an uber-talented player, but having watched him throughout his young career, would YOU want to guarantee he’d be YOUR employee – and be counted on to be continually functioning at an extremely high level – in 2028? You saw Machado’s act last October. Are you telling me you’d expect him to be putting forth optimum effort at anything 10 years from now?
Sorry, but I wouldn’t. No chance.
And now team executives, armed with all sorts of additional data, are able to back up their reasoning for signing players to short term deals. This is not to say that relative to what clubs are bringing in that players like these (and Nolan Arenado) shouldn’t get humongous dollar contracts. The very best should be paid $20+ mill a season…but not for 10 seasons. Not when they’re 35 years old. By that point, the next generation of players worthy of phat contracts will be on the scene and forcing the Machados and the Harpers into secondary roles. Teams should not be in the position of paying top dollar to a guy playing a secondary role.
Agents have to wise up. Take front loaded contracts with shorter terms and teach players how to invest that money for the future, rather than convincing them that the gravy train should still be servicing them a decade from now when their skills are sliding downhill.
(Having written this, I will still not be surprised when both guys get 10-year contracts. The Yankees and Dodgers are still out there playing with monopoly money.)
Have a comment or counter argument? Fire back at me on Twitter @MarkKnudson41.