Rick Reilly, Have a Clue about Boise

Rick Reilly is a columnist for ESPN.com, and he makes periodic appearances on ESPN.  He thrives upon composing humorous and entertainment based sports stories that don’t always hit the main issues themselves.  I have been a strong critic of Reilly’s style for a very long time.  He is a national pundit in every sense of the word; he focuses far too much on general stereotypes and often says things without processing them and the consequences of his statements.

For example, in one ESPN feature, Reilly inadvertently disrespected every US soccer player by speculating about how good the national team would be if players such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Ryan Miller, and other star athletes played soccer instead of their own sports.  He sent the message that our current players weren’t the best the country could produce, and I took major offense to that belief and subsequent statement on national television.

In another feature, Reilly degraded the entire Philadelphia fanbase by arguing that Donovan McNabb was mistreated in Philly.  He stated that the fans should be apologizing to McNabb, and that nothing makes them happy. Of course, as with most pundits, one of his major points was that the fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus.  Hey Rick, that happened in the 1960s, get over it.  The fact that he simply stated that Philadelphia fans are not classy was unfounded and unprofessional.

So what must he have done this time to perturb me enough to write a blog entry?  This entry is a response to Rick Reilly’s article on ESPN.com, “Broncos Can’t Buck this Trend” (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=5725597).  I recommend reading it, but if you would rather not, here is a general summary.  Reilly believes that Boise State should be ranked above Auburn and Oregon, and should claim the top spot in the BCS rankings.  He feels that the Broncos are consistently disrespected, and argues that the resume of the Broncos trumps that of any other college football team.  If he wants to make that argument, that is fine, but my problem is with the lack of logic and intelligence with which he did so.

First, Reilly argues that Boise should be ranked above Auburn, and gives the stat that Auburn has 13 less wins in the last 5 seasons than Boise.  I have 3 problems with this statement.  First, and most obvious, the rankings are not based upon past years, the rankings are solely based upon what has happened this year.  Second, Auburn plays in the SEC, and doesn’t play Louisiana Tech and Idaho on a yearly basis.  Instead, the Tigers play LSU, Alabama, Florida, and Arkansas on a yearly basis.  Just a hunch, but I feel that playing Idaho and Louisiana Tech each year might lend itself to a few more wins per season than a team playing in the SEC.  So explain the thought process behind that stat, Rick.  Finally, the personnel is completely different at Auburn from even 2 years ago.  Head coach Gene Chizik was hired in 2009 after Tommy Tuberville was fired, and Heisman contender Cam Newton is a first year starter at Auburn.  But clearly, Rick Reilly thought all that through when he decided that the basis for his Boise State over Auburn argument was a difference of 13 wins in the last 5 years.

Second, Reilly defends the Broncos by arguing that they beat Oregon 19-8 last season at home, and that the Ducks undeservingly sit ahead of Boise.  Hey Rick, who was the starting quarterback for Oregon last year?  That’s right, it was Jeremiah Masoli, now the quarterback of Ole Miss.  Rick, meet Darren Thomas, the 2010 starter for the Ducks, who is tearing up the Pac 10 and everyone else right now.  When you make an argument about a head to head matchup, and the starting quarterback isn’t the same for the losing team in a previous season, that is stupid and inane, and has no bearing on anything whatsoever.

Third, Rick Reilly argues that Boise State plays and beats whoever is throw at them.  He states that Boise State beat San Jose State 48-0, and Wisconsin, who beat Ohio State and Iowa, only beat San Jose State by 13.  Compelling argument Rick, but I have a question, where are Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Iowa ranked in the BCS?  10, 11, and 18, respectively.  How about Boise? Number 3.  What exactly are you arguing, Rick?  That Boise should be ranked higher than Wisconsin? Done.  Higher than Ohio State? They already are.  Higher than Iowa?  They have been all year.  How your stat makes an argument that Boise State should be ranked above Auburn and Oregon is beyond me.

Fourth, Reilly argues that since Boise crushed Wyoming 51-6, who almost beat Air Force, who almost beat Oklahoma, Boise could absolutely beat Oklahoma.  Again, my question to Rick is, where is Oklahoma ranked?  That’s right, 9th, 6 spots behind Boise.  Is it me, Rick, or are your arguments becoming less and less relevant as your article continues?

If you didn’t think it could get worse, it did.  He then stated, with regards to Boise State beating Oklahoma, “Oh wait, it already did [happen].”  Rick, that was January 1st, 2007.  Jared Zabransky and Ian Johnson are not playing for the Broncos anymore, and Paul Thompson and Adrian Peterson are not playing for the Sooners anymore.  A comparison to a game 4 years ago is completely ridiculous, and is embarrassing to you as a journalist, Rick.

Finally, Reilly argues that Boise would “carve up” the ACC because the Broncos “whipped” Virginia Tech on the road (I have a hard time calling a 33-30 game a “whipping,” and it technically was not a home game for Tech, either).  But Rick, tell me, what team in the ACC is ranked higher than Boise State, thus in your mind disrespecting the Broncos?  None.  Get your facts and logic straight, and then come back to me.

Pardon the point-by-point analysis, but I found nearly everything included in this article to be completely ridiculous and unprofessional in nature.  There was no logic involved, it was simply a biased opinion based upon readily available and popular facts that were thrown together in a way that made no sense whatsoever and negated every one of the points he tried to make.

The fact is that Boise is lucky to be ranked #3.  Missouri is undefeated with more quality wins than Boise State, and Alabama I have ranked ahead of Boise because of 3 quality wins that trump Boise’s top win over Virginia Tech.  So please, Rick Reilly, and all other national pundits who want to make an argument about Boise State, you can make the argument, but before doing so, please, have a clue.

LeBron Joins Wade and Bosh

BREAKING NEWS:  LeBron announced Thursday night that he will join Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade as the newest member of the Miami Heat.  He turned down serious offers from Cleveland, Chicago, New York, and New Jersey.  The Heat still has a lot of work to do to fill the rest of the roster with quality players, and does not have a lot of salary cap space to do so.  However, the Heat’s 3 player combo may be the most dominant in the NBA right now, and the Heat appears to be the early Eastern Conference favorite.

Wade and Bosh Together in South Beach

BREAKING NEWS:  Today, it was reported that Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade have agreed to play together for the Miami Heat next season.  Wade made it clear at the beginning of free agency that he wanted to stay in Miami, but needed another big time player to assist him.  The Heat front office satisfied Wade’s demands by signing Bosh, who is one of the bona fide big men in the game today.

In other news, we now know when and where LeBron will announce his decision on free agency.  On Thursday night at 9PM on ESPN, there will be an hour long special during which LeBron will declare his new home for next season.  Frontrunners for his services are Chicago, Miami, and his hometown Cleveland.  A dark horse in the LeBron sweepstakes is the New York Knicks, who have already signed Amar’e Stoudemire through free agency.  Stay tuned for any more big NBA free agency stories.

NBA Superstars Sit out the Final Games of the Regular Season

As the NBA regular season concludes and the playoffs begin, the issue of stars sitting the final few regular season games has been heavily debated.  LeBron James sat out the final week of the regular season to prepare for the playoffs, and many sportswriters and analysts cried foul on the Cavs’ decision to sit out the superstar.  They claimed that the team was hurting the fans, and that the fans deserve refunds for their tickets because LeBron didn’t play.  These people believe that LeBron “owes” it to the fans to play.  Another sportswriter said that he would no longer vote for LeBron for MVP because of his decision to not play the final week of the season.

My take on this issue stems from the concept of markets.  LeBron gets paid a lot of money because people pay to see him and the Cavs play.  Athletes do not make money just because of their talent, but because the people put up the money to watch them play, and this has increased their salaries exponentially as NBA basketball has expanded.  Compare this phenomenon to that of other professions.  There might be a mailman or a waiter who is as talented at that profession as LeBron is at basketball.  Why does LeBron get paid more then if he is no more talented at what he does than the mailman?  The difference is the entertainment market.  He is paid more because people find basketball entertaining and pay money to watch LeBron perform in his profession.  People don’t pay to watch the mailman deliver the mail.  Therefore, LeBron doesn’t “owe” the fans a performance.  There is nothing in LeBron’s contract that forces LeBron to play, but instead people just expect him to play because they pay for the tickets.  That is not the case, however; it is simply one of the unknowns when it comes to professional sporting events.  Stars sitting is unfortunate for fans that paid money to watch that player play, but it is just the way sports are.

However, because fans pay money to watch LeBron play, and this money increases the NBA revenue which indirectly increases players’ salaries, the fans have a way to influence the “market” and convince LeBron to play in the final games of the regular season.  There is a way for fans to force LeBron to play the final few games and not prevent paying fans from seeing him perform.  Again, it is all about the markets.  If fans understand that the Cavaliers will not play LeBron in the final few games before the playoffs, then they should simply not buy tickets for those final few regular season games.  The outcome is very simple.  If no one goes to these games, a message will be sent very quickly and effectively to the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers organization.  These entities will realize that the fans pay to see the superstars, and that the fans will not accept anything less.  If no one goes to these games, the team will get the hint very quickly and will be forced to play LeBron in future regular season games.

While I realize this process takes some time to take form (2-3 years most likely), there would be no better way to make a statement to the Cavaliers and the NBA.  The lasting impact of this statement made by the fans would be felt for years to come.  It would be a strong precedent that other franchises would refer back to when considering sitting their star player.  Teams would be much more inclined to play their star players even down the stretch in the regular season because fans have shown that they do not accept anything less than a team’s best, and that the fans are not afraid to show their feelings by not buying tickets.  For example, if Oklahoma City becomes an elite team in 5 years led by Kevin Durant, the Thunder may consider sitting Durant in the final 3 games of the season to rest him for the playoffs and to prevent injury.  However, if by this point the Cavs fans have set the precedent that fans will not buy tickets if the stars are sitting in mid-April, the Thunder would be much less inclined to sit Durant, and the fans would benefit for years from this effort.

I am not naive, however, and I do realize that this process would be very difficult, if not impossible, to perform.  Knowledge of the practice of sitting stars at the end of seasons and a unified effort across the entire home city to not buy tickets at the end of the season is needed in order to reverse this troubling trend of sitting stars.  However, an effort like this by the fans IS necessary to make positive steps towards the goal of making these stars like LeBron play at the end of the regular season.