As we make our way into mid-December and the final weeks of the year, excitement starts to build with many people, young and old. From the anticipation (or stresses) of the holidays, to the culmination of another NFL season, many of us look forward to this part of our annual calendar.

In my own way, I look forward to this time of year, because I’m a “list” kinda guy …..

Be it BEST OF, WORST OF, MOST INTRIGUING, MOST OVERRATED, MOST POPULAR, MOST HATED and just about any related combination, I like compiling lists of my personal rankings regarding people and events of any given year.

Of course, my lists revolve around sports, in one context or another. From the famous to the infamous, and the champions to the chokers, I’ll give you the spin on how 2010 shakes out in my conflicted mind.

Today, we’ll begin with the “TEN MOST CONTROVERSIAL SPORTS PERSONALITIES OF THE YEAR” …..
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10) Lane Kiffin – The ultimate coaching mercenary, huh? Many of us were snookered into believing Kiffin was the sympathetic figure depicted in his dysfunctional ride with Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders. Little did we know his loyalties would tend to run as deep, or shallow, as his former boss …..

Earlier this year, Lane Kiffin deserted the University of Tennessee – the institution that gave him a second chance – on a whim to return to his coaching roots, at the University of Southern California. Kiffin garnered a lot of rightful criticism for switching jobs, midstream, while so many people, in Tennessee, depended on him.
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9) Cam Newton – Well, we all know this name, huh? Yet, a year ago at this time, only the hardcore college football fans really knew anything about Newton. Only in America …. can a sports personality rise from anonymity to celebrity, in the span of a few months.

I suppose we should really be recognizing Cam’s father, Cecil, for being the “straw that stirred this combustible cocktail.” He obviously lobbied for money in exchange for his son’s services, and regardless of what the NCAA might be saying, most of us don’t really believe young Cam is blameless.

Hmmm …. how long will it take for him to surrender that trophy?

As the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing for their prime time showdown, on Sunday evening, some interesting storylines are beginning to unfold …..

Will the Ravens finally beat Ben Roethlisberger in a meaningful game?

Will the Steelers be able to stave off a plethora of injuries and retake the AFC-North lead?

Can Joe Flacco drive a second straight stake through the collective hearts of every RAT-FINK Baltimorean who calls this town home, yet they root for the Steelers?

Can both teams live up to the hype surrounding the National Football League’s most riveting rivalry of the past decade?

We’re gonna find out in just three days.

Yet, amid all the hoopla and anticipation that accompanies a Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh matchup, another factor or storyline is emerging …..

Can James Harrison finally start abiding by the NFL’s newest policies, as they regard the defender’s helmet in tackling?

I don’t like the new rules …..

You don’t like the new rules …..

Most players, with exception to quarterbacks, don’t like the new rules …..

But, opposition and dissent will not change things. The new rules are firm and if players cannot abide by them, they’ll fork over cash, as a result.

While I don’t particularly care for these changes, especially considering the hard-hitting nature of football, I absolutely understand the NFL’s mission. They’re obligated to protect the players from themselves, and their equally obliged to protect the league from future lawsuits.

Our sports society is well aware of the NFL’s mission to address concussions and subsequent brain injuries. A vast number of former players serve as prime examples of the detrimental effects concussions can have on life AFTER FOOTBALL.

Technological advances have discovered a correlation between brain injuries and dementia. And, the NFL is under the spotlight when it comes to dissection of this health concern.

It’s really only a matter of time until a former player sues the league over a perceived negligence, as it relates to rule changes or measures taken to prevent brain injuries from occurring.

Sure, it’s quite easy for us to bemoan the new rules, while proclaiming …. “THIS AIN’T FOOTBALL.” Heck, we’re right in our assessment. But, we’re not the ones who’ll be defending our respective livelihood when the lawsuits start trickling into the NFL’s offices.

That’s the spirit of the new rules …..

Here’s a look at the night that was on Tuesday and the one that lies ahead on Wednesday along with a few random musings from the best seat in the house, literally, at home in front of the TV.

Yesterday, I speculated here that there was little chance that Pat Riley had any intentions of replacing Erik Spoelstra on the Miami Heat bench because their level of chemistry, commitment, and overall play, and the lack of assuredness that Riley himself would be able to get much more from this squad. With 24 hours to think on it, I might amend that line of thinking and say that Riley may replace Spoelstra, but he won’t likely jump back onto the bench himself. Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojinarski wrote this piece about how James’ me first act is a safe bet to wear thin pretty quickly, and speculates that it was James’ inner circle that began floating the “Spoelstra is panicking” rumors in the first place. With the Heat, and James headed to Cleveland on Thursday, the drama, and attention are bound to continue.

Speculation also abounds today that perhaps Roger Goodell’s main motivation behind not suspending Andre Johnson and/or Cortland Finnegan for their brawl on Sunday is because the Texans are playing on Thursday night. As it related to Johnson, Finnegan or even a possible James Harrison suspension (that won’t happen either), it would seem that the NFL’s appeals process would have allowed all 3 the chance to play this week, and every other until their appeals were heard. Maybe the NFL was afraid that Johnson would decline an appeal and serve his suspension to spite the league. I wonder if Goodell is compiling a manual of precedents for the punishments that the league is dishing out, seemingly at random, this season.

Jim Harbaugh, the Stanford coach, former Ravens’ quarterback and brother of Ravens head coach John Harbaugh projects to be one of the hottest commodities on the market as schools begin to make and fill coaching vacancies. Michigan seems like the natural fit, if they choose to part company with Rich Rodriguez, but some believe that Harbaugh would be crazy to leave Stanford, where success is measured in academics and his feet aren’t likely to be held to the fire anytime soon, even if his now successful program took a dramatic U-turn. I would be at least mildly surprised if Jim Harbaugh didn’t have at least one eye on the NFL if he has any desire to change jobs. It should develop into an interesting off-season story line.

With all of the purple towel resistance building before Sunday night’s game, crowd noise is becoming topical. Now there are talks of a “No means no” chant for Ben Roethlisberger. On the surface, it’s funny, hilarious actually, but that’s from my perspective. I’m guessing there’s another side of this issue that would find it tasteless and appalling. In other words, it might make the Steelers fans that are on hand a little more comfortable. Count me out on the “no means no” chant, but I’ll be listening, and laughing a little inside.

I have to say that no matter how the Derek Jeter negotiations work out, I am amused. I’m not sure what Jeter’s value might specifically be to the Yankees, but I’m pretty certain that 4 Derek Jeters wouldn’t be worth the kind of money that both sides are discussing to any other team. His legend is intact, his skill set is declining, and we’re talking about projecting him beyond his 40^th birthday. The one thing that has never failed Jeter in his opportunistic Major League career has been his timing. From the ball hit to Jeffrey Maier, to the inexplicable flip to get Jeremy Giambi at the plate, to seeking out his last payday with hit #3000 on the horizon, Jeter’s always been the guy in the right place at the right time.  

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It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

Or pregnant.

Or, now, spit on.

I was a little stunned at the reaction both in Miami and Baltimore yesterday as details emerged about “SpitGate” involving Le’Ron McClain and Channing Crowder.

People in both cities were “appalled” and “shocked” and “stunned” by the fact that McClain might have spit on Crowder during Sunday’s Ravens-Dolphins game in Baltimore.

Really?

Shocked?

You’re nuts.

I’m half expecting to see one of these guys pull a piece out and fire a shot into the other team’s huddle one of these days.

I don’t know if you’re watching the same NFL as I am, but the level of professionalism amongst the players has dropped dramatically over the last few years.

And that’s not a low blow…it’s a fact.

To my eyes, having watched the “ground level” footage somehow captured by a Miami TV station, it’s very apparent to me that McClain spit on Crowder. He lauches forward at him, his head rises up and it’s clear he makes some sort of projecting move towards Crowder’s face. Crowder reacts as if he’s a man who has just been spit upon. If I sat in the juror’s box and that was the ONLY piece of evidence I had, I’d convict McClain.

Or I’d just send those two clowns back to the circus and tell them to both do 5 shows without pay.

But that’s just me.

The Ravens, predictably, deny any such event took place and as one staffer pointed out to me last night during a give-and-take on “did he or didn’t he?”, the referee standing right in the mix of the altercation didn’t act as if McClain spit on Crowder while he tried to separate them. My answer to that is simple enough: Have you seen the refs this year? Hell, McClain could have spit on one of them and he might not know it. In other words, don’t EVER use the referees as a barometer for whether or not an infraction occurred. The only thing they’re good at seeing these days are reruns of Bonanza and The Andy Griffith Show.

Honestly, though, I don’t really care if McClain spit on Crowder or not. If he did, the league will punish him and whatever they decide to do with him is fine by me. I don’t condone it. And I’m not trying to be dismissive when I say “whatever they decide to do is fine…” — because I do think if you spit on a guy, the league should act swifty and harshly.

But it’s getting much easier for me to be dismissive of the behavior I’m seeing from the players because no one seems to want to do anything about it.

Roger Goodell has his hands tied with this “physicality issue”, as he sifts through every tackle in the league to figure out which ones are hard and fair and which ones are REALLY hard and maybe unfair.

It’s becoming somewhat of an embarrassment for Goodell, personally, in my opinion. Not only is he bringing the quality of play into question

I’ve made no secret about my adoration for the Texas Rangers. I’ve always been a Nolan Ryan fan, and I think their lineup is assembled as solidly as any organization in recent memory. To see that team in a 2-0 hole is mind boggling.

The San Francisco Giants are an aberration. Cody Ross? Aaron Rowand? Juan Uribe? Edgar Renteria? Aubrey Huff? Pat Burrell? Andres Torres? Are you kidding me …..

It’s a HUNGOVER morning in my life and I’m not feeling very affectionate. Thus, I will dedicate the spirit of today’s blog to the Texas Rangers and their pathetic performance through the first couple games of the World Series. Things that KILL …..

On Tuesday, the NFL handed out a king’s ransom worth of fines and announced their renewed commitment to the enforcement of rules designed to protect players from head injuries, scoring them accolades across the board for their proactive approach to concussion prevention, a growing concern among NFL players and fans as we learn more and more about the long term effects of head injuries. On the surface, it’s the right thing to do, we could argue that it should have been done long ago, or that simply enforcing the rules as they exist already would preclude the need for any grandstanding or any renewal of commitment from the league regarding this matter, but progress is progress, so let’s applaud it for what it is.  

Having said that however, are we really to believe that this is anything other than  another veiled attempt by the league and it’s ownership group to pass the onus for yet another troublesome issue along to the players? There should be no question that a marketing engine the size and scale of the NFL didn’t achieve that level of success by accident, so it likewise should be no surprise that the league has seemingly mastered, at least of late, the process of spinning propaganda and driving the direction of public opinion as well.

Make no mistake, in the past 12 months, NFL owners have not only opted out of their current collective bargaining agreement for the sake of claiming a bigger share of the pie, but have also set the stage to now lock out the players in the name of giving us the fans what we really want, 2 more games per season, and HGH testing. Is that what we really want? To some degree it must be, as fans seem to be eating it up. Forget that the owners are still negotiating for a bigger piece of the pie, while now trying to grow the pie too. Forget too, that the owners have enough TV money in place for next season that when coupled with the reduction in expenditures for salaries and other expenses associated with fielding a football team stands to make them just as much or more money for not having a 2011 season as they would by having one. And definitely forget that in addition to the annual incomes and expense accounts drawn from their teams, these ultra-rich owners have also seen the values of their franchises grow faster than seemingly any other commodity available on the free market, largely because of the kush stadium deals and other benefits afforded to them at taxpayer expense. Forget it all, because the NFL is set to go to war with its labor force, despite the fact that by comparison, with their short careers, smaller salaries and lack of guaranteed money, football players already enjoy the least lucrative position in all of major American professional athletes. And they have us behind them…somehow. But I digress. The real point of today’s rant is that despite the accolades the NFL has deservedly received for at least acknowledging the issue of head trauma and their interest in preventing it, in typical NFL spin machine fashion, it seems that once again the onus for the issue has been passed on to the players exclusively.

While the NFL is casting these as dirty plays, and hurting players in their wallets over them, it’s fair to say that a vast majority of the hits that have been and will be fined heavily going forward are hits that the players making them have been making their whole lives, hits that would have drawn acclaim rather than scrutiny just a few seasons ago. Football 101 dictates that going over the middle can come at a price, and should. Separating a player from the ball on a single play is really only part of the equation. The cumulative effect of hard hits, taken over the middle often leads to players being more and more reluctant to do it as the game wears on. How are players supposed to deliver those shots today when slowing themselves while being careful to stay in the “Strike Zone”? What’s more, I guess the league offices are now in the business of determining intent when questionable hits occur. Wait until the first suspension gets doled out, then the debate really begins.

When I say that the league has been slow to act on this matter, I say so being a fairly devout reader of the TMQ column by Gregg Easterbrook featured every Tuesday during football season at ESPN.com. Easterbrook has been on this subject for years in his column, and has made a number of great points on the problems and potential solutions. The biggest of which cannot be overstated, most of the football players in the US are children, children who without the benefit of muscle and bone maturity are far more susceptible to these types of injuries than adults. Side wherever you want on the athletes as role models debate, but that’s more about off the field choices, on the field, every player is a role model, one whose behavior is subject to be emulated by any number of children at the recreational levels of their respective sports. To that end, our athletes, and the leagues that govern their behavior owe it to us to do things the right way and set the best possible example, especially as it relates to player safety.

Start with helmet technology, while I’m not going to advocate for any company or specific model, type anti concussion football helmets into any search engine, and you’ll learn that helmet technology has come a long way in the last decade or so. Helmets are in production currently that studies have shown to reduce the propensity for concussions exponentially. Check out the images and you’ll recognize them, surely you’ve seen a few on the college and NFL fields by now. Why not mandate them? If they’re proven safer, and the league is concerned with safety it sounds simple. If the NFL did this, how long do you think it would take colleges and high schools to follow suit? (As I understand it, their is a powerful lobby that works on behalf of the industry that reconditions and resells used helmets, my potential for understanding pretty much ends there however.)

Want to get really extreme with helmet safety? Why not mandate the old Mark Kelso helmets, with the foam rubber outer pads? In addition to protecting the wearer, you’d have to imagine that this would also lessen the damage caused by the occasional accidental big hit across the middle. It couldn’t be that the league is more concerned with cosmetic appearance than player safety, could it?

Recently Easterbrook also pointed out the number of times per game you see players losing their helmets on the field. This is most likely due to poor fitting and/or unsecured helmets, a problem easily correctable and enforceable by the league, yet one that persists nonetheless. And what about mouthpiece technology? In addition to protecting your teeth, a mouthpiece is also meant to reduce the likelihood for concussions. Should any player on the filed, with the possible exception of the uber-protected quarterbacks, be allowed to go though a single play without a mouthpiece? Furthermore, why not have players fitted with real dentist made double-sided mouthpieces like those that fighters wear instead of the boil and bite style single sided mouthpieces they currently use? I seem to remember Jon Gruden going on during a Saints game last year about how they had worked with a company that made mouthpieces that actually aligned a players spine and increased their range of motion.

What do you do now as a defensive player when an offensive player dives? Should running backs still be allowed to deliver big hits to the helmets of would be tacklers with their off-ball arms?

These and a number of other issues are likely to arise as the NFL traverses forward into uncharted territory as it relates to player safety, and I applaud the first step taken by the league this week. It’s becoming all too predictable though that whatever the issues may be, the league has found a way to shirk their share of the blame and pass it along to the players. This doesn’t speak well to them doing a better job of protecting players going forward. And again, in matters that are far beyond my level of comprehension, one would have to imagine that with a slew of players both past and present that will undoubtedly be suffering from the effects of these head traumas long after their careers and contracts have passed, that the NFL might have to be careful as to how much of the responsibility they willingly accept given the potential for future lawsuits.

When the NFL gets serious about fixing this thing, if they get serious about fixing it, it will be obvious, because in so doing, they’ll be sharing in the responsibility. Until I hear them accept responsibility for anything…ever, I’ll take what they’re spinning with a grain of salt.

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The NFL announced today that players would be fined and suspended starting this weekend for head shots. First off, it seems that the NFL is an extremely reactionary league in that a few players got laid out on Sunday (including Todd Heap), and suddenly they’re concerned about safety. However, the league specifically said that there were no guidelines for this policy. Um, okay…thanks for the heads-up, I guess.

On Sunday night I attended the Redskins/Colts game at FedEx Field, prior to which the Redskins announced 62 former players to the crowd. As I cheered for the ones that I remembered from my own childhood, I couldn’t help but think that many of them would have been considered dirty players by today’s standards. They might as well take Sam Huff, Dick Butkis, and Lawrence Taylor (arguably the best defensive player in my lifetime) out of the hall of fame. Not to mention the Jack Lamberts, Jack Hams, and Ronnie Lott’s of the world. All of those guys would be on Roger Goodel’s hit list today, as would Alvin Walton, Monte Coleman, Dexter Manley, and Charles Mann (some of my favorite Redskins as a kid).

I’m not suggesting that the league shouldn’t try to protect players from injury. Furthermore, I would agree that a player that purposely tries to injure people has no place in football. However the problem with the NFL is that they can’t see the gray area between a rough play that occurs in the spirit of the game, and a dirty play. The Philadelphia Eagles had a guy in the late 1980′s and early ’90′s named Andre Waters, who earned the nickname “dirty Waters.” In my opinion, Waters was a dirty player because he purposely would try to knock people out of games. (It was his tackle of the L.A. Rams’ Jim Everett in 1988 which led to quarterbacks not being allowed to be hit below the waist while in the pocket.) However there’s a big difference between Waters and a guy like Haloti Ngata, who is a very clean player in my opinion.

I suppose that my point is that there’s going to be no distinction made between clean and dirty; if a hit involves a helmet, the guy will get suspended. Ultimately what’s going to happen is that guys are going to start missing tackles for fear of being suspended. Furthermore, do we honestly believe that guys like Ray Lewis won’t be given a closer look than others? Lewis is a hard hitter, a great tackler, and a great cover guy…but he’s not a dirty player. The fact is that the league won’t lose fans as a result of these regulations, but I have to wonder if they’re afraid of losing money. Is it possible that major NFL sponsors were going to pull their advertising for fear of being affiliated with such an organization where people routinely get injured. All organizations are paranoid about ticking off or losing sponsors, ad I would assume that the NFL is no exception. And here’s another thing; would Congress have gotten involved? They seem intent on involving themselves in baseball with regard to steroids, so who’s to say that they wouldn’t try to regulate how the NFL deals with head-to-head contact.

Ultimately, you can say that they should put dresses on these players, or any sort of cliche, however the fact remains that you can’t sterilize football and still have it be football. I would suspect that 95% of the players in the NFL aren’t out there to purposely hurt people. The fact remains that people do get injured. Maybe the NFL should concentrate on it’s looming labor issues as opposed to worrying about something like this, because otherwise we won’t even be able to argue about these issues next year at this time

Yesterday afternoon, I stood among a group of 30 friends and watched the unfolding drama between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. It was the typical, hard fought game expected of the two rivals.

By now, you know the story. While the Ravens held a miniscule lead throughout much of the game, the Steelers wrestled it from their grasp midway thru the 4th quarter.

Nearly all of my friends feared and/or bemoaned the customary “here we go AGAIN” lines. And, they were justified in feeling that way. The Steelers are renowned for killing the Ravens hopes in the final minutes of past battles.

But, I stood my ground and refused to join in the paranoia.

I spent a SOBER Sunday singing the same tune I’ve been belting out for the last few days. If you were standing within earshot of me, you heard it …..

“The Ravens Ain’t Losing Today …. They’ve Got Karma On Their Side.”

Say what you want and believe what you want – I absolutely, positively subscribe to the power of KARMA. I think it’s the balance of ensuring that some people get what they’ve got coming to them.

You think I’m crazy? Fine. But, every single person in our society has lived with hope that “what goes around, comes around” at some point of their lives.

I talked about it last week. I blogged it on Saturday (Will The Ravens Win? Yes ….).  And, I preached it to anybody willing to listen during yesterday’s game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers rode into yesterday’s game with an unblemished record. At 3-0, they had yet to really absorb any negative effects from Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension. In an eerie kinda way, I felt the Rooney organization was getting off the hook too easily.

My perceptions were correct, and I knew it.

The Steelers were bound to feel the brunt sting of Roethlisberger’s absence. They had to experience it, because a loss would really bring the entireity of the “Milledgeville Debacle” and Ben’s penchant for treating people badly, full circle.

Dan Rooney had no clear indication that his quarterback was going to do something potentially criminal, in Georgia, six short months ago. However, he absolutely knew his quarterback was living a less than respectable life – garnering complaints of sexual misconduct and behaving like a JACKASS around Pittsburgh.

By now, everybody knows about Ben Roethlisberger’s misdeeds. The accounts have been provided, from waitresses, customers, friends, teammates, collegaues, fans and others.

Where there’s smoke …..

Yet, as yesterday’s game rolled around the Steelers were staring at the vivid possibility of not missing a single beat, or suffering a single loss, during Roethlisberger’s absence. And, aside from his personal fantasy statistics, ‘ole Ben was likely thinking this suspension amounted to nothing more than a one month vacation.

Not so fast boys …..

Life ain’t that unfair for others …..

With yesterday’s loss, Ben Roethlisberger and Dan Rooney have a true, concrete reminder of what his suspension has cost their organization. And, that’s really all we can ask in sealing the fate of justice, as it relates to Roger Goodell’s sanctions.

Would Ben Roethlisberger’s participation in yesterday’s game have made a difference? We’ll never know. But, I would like to think it would have made an impact. And, that makes the Ravens win even sweeter.

Yesterday’s game can be summed up in a few potential ways …..

“The Arrival Of Joe Flacco …..”

“The Ravens Defense Delivers …..”

“Charlie Batch Is Charlie Batch …..”

Regardless of how the game is categorized, you can really pin a substantial part of it on Ben Roethlisberger. And, for the sake of what’s RIGHT, today is a very good day.

Dan Rooney needed to feel the way he undoubtedly feels this morning. Perhaps, the next time his quarterback does something to embarrass the organization, he’ll react quicker, while beckoning back to today.

The KARMA TRAIN has arrived, in Pittsburgh. And, Dan Rooney finds himself taking a seat right next to Ben Roethlisberger.

How fitting.

You saw the headlines earlier in the week – yet another women given a hard time in a professional sports locker room. I’ll write her name once – Ines Sainz of TV Azteca in Mexico – and for the most part move on from her name because she’s just a symbol at this point for a whole bunch of incongruent messages and a changing world of media and access that creates a talking point for the mass media.

This story had it all: Sex. Football. Politics. Etiquette. Professionalism. Journalism. Oh, and harassment by well-paid, high profile athletes in the capital of the media world, New York City.

But forget her, personally or what her clothing was that day or even how insulting or out-of-line I’m sure Rex Ryan and, more specifically, Dennis Thurman almost certainly were to her on the field.

She’s just the latest example of “female sports journalist has problem in the workplace that happens to be a locker room full of naked, high-profile, well-paid athletes.”

She’s the Lisa Olson of the week or the latest woman in a predominantly male world who was singled out and harassed unfairly in the workplace. Or, in many folks’ view from what I’ve read on the internet and heard on WNST-AM 1570 all week, she’s the one who was selling sex as an angle and fetched what she was looking for in the “harassment,” which is attention.

But in most cases, those who only judge this situation and this sports media topicality from afar have a rather stilted and inaccurate portrayal of what goes on in professional sports locker rooms.

I come from a different angle than the millions of people who have all had an opinion on this topic over the last 72 hours and the talking heads in the “real” media who have made it a trending topic on Twitter and on TV networks and corporate sports radio entities who employ the very tactics and strategies that they are so roundly criticizing as a whole in most cases.

Millions of people opine, but I’ve lived it every day of my life for nearly 27 years. This is all I’ve ever done for a living, go into locker rooms and talk to athletes. I’ve worked alongside women in every locker room I’ve ever entered day in and day out for more than a quarter of a century. This is all I’ve ever done since I was 15 years old, cover Baltimore sports and national sports with authority, credibility and now I sit in the ultimate seat of having the ability to decide, as an employer, who actually GETS press passes and goes into a locker room wearing a WNST badge and who is “credible” and who is not.

I’ve seen it all. I’ve heard it all. I’ve endured the good, the bad and the ugly. I’ve had a few incidents of my own where I’ve felt disrespected or mildly threatened and had to hold my ground on professionalism.

I’ve heard women called whores, tramps and worse. “Wool” being shouted or coughed was routinely the “clubhouse sign” that a women was invading the space under Camden Yards in the Orioles clubhouse during the 1990s.

Why “wool”? Well, why don’t you guess?

I was around for Lisa Olson and worked in locker rooms with her and it was a hot topic 20 years ago. Her attire in the stoic, stodgy, arrogant all-too-male and all-too-white media in Boston led to me having to buy a pair of pants off Yawkey Way because they didn’t allow jeans or shorts in the press box at Fenway Park back in the 1990s after the “Olson incident” in Foxboro.

I was in Cleveland in 1995 and witnessed Albert Belle going after Hannah Storm in the Jacobs Field dugout from 10 feet away.

The Erin Andrews saga was a criminal act that was borne out of the network putting her beauty in front of zillions of zany, crazed college students with signs that say all sorts of things for the camera that profess anything but love for her professional credibility or work ethic or journalistic skills.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: lots of women these days have no business being in sports locker rooms because they’re not qualified and it’s not because their skirt is too high or their blouse is too low.

It’s because they don’t belong there because they haven’t earned the right to be there and they’re not qualified and because they got the job because of their looks and not their intellect or expertise.

Earlier this week, when the Jets were accused of harassing Sainz, the other local women who are on the beat were quite frankly shocked that it happened because they’re in there every day and don’t get cat-called or hooted at because they’re actually there WORKING and are RESPECTED.

And they should be. I don’t really want to “name names” in this blog because I’m scared to death I’d leave out the many, many really cool females I’ve met in this business who DO take it seriously and are among MY heroes and friends.

Here’s a very short list (and I know I’ve left out many others) and rest assured these aren’t people I “see on TV.” These are people I know, socialize with, converse sports and life with and respect immensely.

Bonnie Bernstein knows sports. I saw her Monday night at the Meadowlands. She hosts real sports radio in New York and she is as legit a sports “expert” as I’ve ever known. Linda Cohn is a sports savant. Suzy Kolber is as well-versed in every aspect of sports as anyone I’ve ever met. Andrea Kramer is a football junkie in every sense of the word. I see Judy Battista several times a year and she’s among the most respected NFL writers in the world. Look, I could go on and on about Leslie Visser and Hannah Storm and many others but the point is “good is good” – male or female, in any color or shape or size.

My real hero was Molly Dunham-Glassman, who was my boss at The Evening Sun. She was by far the most qualified, sports-savvy and educated “expert” I’ve ever known. (I’ve been looking for the next Molly for 12 years. If you’re an aspiring sports journalist/expert I want to hear from you no matter what your gender might be! Send all resumes to nasty@wnst.net).

But these aforementioned people are true sports experts and journalists. Like me and others I respect in this business, they’ve dedicated their lives since birth to knowing sports and honing their craft and internal database of information.

None of these women got their jobs or have ever directly traded on looks, sexuality, innuendo, bimbo-ness or anything other than “expert information.”

But this is where the world has changed in locker rooms over the past two decades. So many female sports journalists of late have gotten their jobs based on their looks and what their looks will do to attract the attention of male athletes who will give them time, access or interviews that no one with a penis could ever “penetrate.”

Here’s a simple frame of reference. I attended 15 MLB All-Star Games before the Orioles revoked my press pass four years ago for writing and speaking the truth about their lousiness and the decay of the downtown business community on summer nights.

Two years ago when the All-Star Game was at the “old” Yankee Stadium, I took the train up and covered the event because strangely enough, MLB recognizes me as a legitimate journalist:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZEBz6YAVeA[/youtube]

I was blown away by how much the world of MLB sports “journalism” had changed during the pre-game interview period. The field was littered with a bevy of beautiful women holding microphone sticks with a lot of hair spray  and these women probably have never heard of Tommy John let alone could explain what “Tommy John surgery” was for Stephen Strasburg. But they did know that “chicks dig the long ball.” And they had a press pass. And when I got home to Baltimore I wasn’t going to have one.

So much for “journalism,” right?

I suppose if I were a little prettier the Orioles would allow me to have my press pass back, huh?

But these women are primarily on the field because they’re pretty and they’re female and they look good and smell nice. And all of the old, ugly white guys like Peter Gammons, who roamed that turf for years with expertise, insight and true respect for the game and its rich history and heritage have been replaced by pretty girls doing pre- and post-game interviews. And the players are far more apt to say “yes” to an interview with a runway model than with a crotchety, chunky sportswriter.

And I suppose you as the public are far more apt to watch it if you don’t really care how much the person asking the questions really knows.

The Orioles have a female covering the team for their MLB website. I’m not sure she knows who Luis Aparicio is let alone Willie Miranda. So, for me, if I’m not learning anything it’s a short attention span. But that’s just me. Why would I read the coverage of someone who I clearly know more than on the internet? Seeing her Twitter coverage is almost laughable with its lack of insight. Taking shots at her, as it is in most cases when you’re pointing out the obvious, is like shooting fish in a barrel.

And when I write pieces like this speaking the truth it almost comes off as “mean.” I’m not being “mean.” I’m simply stating the obvious.

Our competitors over at CBS Radio have now made two consecutive hires of women based primarily (if not solely) on their looks. They’re from out of town. They have flown the flags of Miami and New York sports to an all-Baltimore audience. They have no clue what’s really happening (or what’s happened) in Baltimore sports on or off the field or the business and politics of local sports. They just look nice. And they “like” sports. But the boss who hires them also has no clue what’s happening in Baltimore sports, which is why you’re reading this blog now.

Look, people like what they like. If you like uninformed, pretty girls bringing you your sports insights and observations and softball questions, good for you. Enjoy them! That’s why they’re there. For you to enjoy them!

And that’s really no different than any of Glenn Clark’s posts, which are part-Maxim, part Tucker Max and part John Steadman – a bizarre concoction our WNST lad-on-the-scene prepares each day in Crabs and Beer! Some people dig it, some are amused and some are appalled.

Welcome to the world of freedom of choice.

I’ve also seen others in this market and others bring scantily clad women into locker rooms who in any other line of work would be referred to as bimbos because they had no clue why they were there.

Clinton Portis is NOT far from wrong on many counts. There ARE women who get into sports journalism at this point to be around naked athletes. And they are there to attract those “exclusive interviews” that men can’t get with their charm, nice perfume and long legs.

For the most part – and I mean 99.9% of the cases of the thousands of hours I’ve spent in professional sports locker rooms and clubhouses – it’s been by far quite professional and dignified.

Quite frankly, I hear more swearing and “guys being guys” and nasty, vulgar lyrics in rap songs played at ear-splitting volume that might be considered offensive by any gender than I do of actual personal harassment.

And even the male reporters have had incidents of “boys being boys” and micro-hazing that’ve been borderline “uncool,” if not completely inappropriate. Adalius Thomas singled me out every Wednesday to see the color of my shirt and to get approval from his teammates. If I were a woman, that would’ve been harassment. In general, it was all in pretty good fun as long as it didn’t include Tony Siragusa.

I’ve never had a problem, except for perhaps when something I said or wrote bothered someone, and I’m extremely accountable and professional, and I took care of it with a conversation and an understanding or clarification.

Clearly, with the New York Jets case, part of the story are that the rules of Mexican television are different and certainly the dress code was more like that of most football players’ wives at a club on Saturday night and less like a conservative, corporate TV sideline reporter on ESPN. Even in California and Florida, local TV news directors routinely hire weather girls with cleavage to spice up the eyeballs and Mexican TV has taken those rules beyond where any American journalist would go. That’s a cultural thing.

That’s the business they’re in – ratings, not journalism or “professionalism” or even proprietary information.

The locker room in a sports environment is quite different from reading the weather on a TV set but the people doing the hiring have never worked in a sports locker room as a beat reporter on a daily basis so they’re clueless as to what really goes on from day to day in an NFL clubhouse.

No doubt I’ve seen a few guys do and say inappropriate things in my 27 years in locker rooms. But ultimately, for this to happen as reported in 2010, the Jets should be ashamed of themselves. Dennis Thurman and Rex Ryan should know better and whatever punishment Roger Goodell deems appropriate is just fine by me. And I have no doubt something bad and unwarranted happened.

All four major sports have worked hard at making the locker room a professional workplace – a business “office” so to speak after games. But you’re always going to have these issues. It’s genuinely awkward — women staring at mostly naked men with notebooks and recorders out asking questions. It just a bizarre, other-worldly kind of experience that doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.

But back to my larger point, which is professionalism and expertise on the subject matter and what some of these women are doing in the locker room to begin with when their main qualification is their looks, not their intelligence or expertise regarding sports or football.

As an “expert” myself and someone who has dedicated my life to being a sports journalist, I’m not sure what’s more offensive – the guys who try to come to me at WNST proclaiming to be sports experts or the women who say they know sports and can’t tell me the difference between a nickel and dime package.

(And, certainly, next summer when the NFL owners go to war with the NFL players, where are you going to turn to find out what the hell is really happening? We cover local sports and the Ravens better than anyone at WNST.net and next year will prove beyond the shadow of a doubt why you come to our website for insight and information.)

But, as an employer, I’ve made it a personal and unabashed quest to find a female sports reporter and EXPERT who really DOES know this stuff.

So, where is the next Molly Dunham?

I Facebooked and Tweeted up that I was writing this blog yesterday and I already started getting the barrage of: “I am a woman and I know more about football than most men!”

Really? Do you? Really?

Be careful of what you boast.

I would invite you over to the studio anytime – or better yet LOVE to give you a written forum or column in our blogosphere to feature your work. I’d LOVE to have a female presence at WNST.net that isn’t about T&A, the color of your hair or the size of your breasts or the white of your smile or the length of your legs.

Not only do I have no interest in patronizing pretty girls to work for WNST in a content capacity, I won’t EVER do it.

I won’t ask you to “send a picture” first (this isn’t Hooters!) but as you know it wouldn’t hurt you if you’re sending it elsewhere in the marketplace in search of a radio, television or web gig as a sports media personality.

And if you think that is a “sexist” statement, well then, you will find my lengthy argument today compelling and confusing all at once.

If you’re a women and you REALLY know enough about sports to be a sports journalist, simply PROVE IT with the depth and quality of your work. But don’t get your feelings hurt if I go Simon Cowell on you and tell you that you don’t know enough. And don’t hold it against me if I embarrass you with how little you might really know.

It’s kinda like American Idol when the poor sap rolls into Simon, Paula, Randy and company and sings grossly off key and everybody in the universe knows but them.

Paula would say something nice to not hurt the girl’s feelings. Randy would politely say “That’s rough, dawg!” And Simon would say “It’s rubbish. It was awwww-ful!”

Honestly, 99% of what I’ve heard from women sports “journalists” over my 27 years has been rubbish. So much so that when I see “the real thing” I’m so freaking impressed and smitten that it’s ridiculous. Of course, I’d say that about 92% of what I’ve heard from the men as well has been rubbish.

I put my money where my mouth is: I’ve hosted these open competitions three times, most recently won by Chris Vinson last Friday.

I don’t want the next Anita Marks or Laura Vecsey or Inez! I want a Baltimore rock star. I’m tired of the phonies. I want the real thing! Someone I want listen to, drink with and converse with who knows as much as I do about the facts and history and most certainly is a Baltimore sports “expert.”

I want information. I want analysis. I want insight. I want experts. I want journalism.

I want to respect what this person – male or female – knows about Baltimore sports. Or I won’t give them my time.

I think most of the men who cover sports locally are a joke so you can only guess how high my bar is on the female side – it’s exactly the same. You either know Baltimore sports or you don’t. If you don’t, you won’t work in an official content capacity at WNST.net.

If they gave doctorates in Baltimore sports journalism at this point, I’d have one. At every level – from newspaper to television to radio (locally and syndicated) and social media and the web – I’ve done every job in this business over the last 27 years.

Hearing, seeing or reading unqualified amateurs parade into clubhouses – that means women AND men – is unbecoming and I won’t hire incompetents, no matter their breast size or their hairstyle or fashion.

I’ve successfully run my own media business for 18 years (against all odds) and I own the fastest-growing local media entity in the market. We’re a sports media company. You’re here reading this because we’re VERY GOOD at what we do and very good at promoting what we do.

I know because you’ve told me. More than 94% of the nearly 2,000 who took our Febuary 2010 survey said they’d recommend WNST.net to a friend who loves Baltimore sports.

We’re very proud of that!

We’re the fastest-growing brand on Twitter because we don’t suck. If you’re a girl – or a guy – who loves sports, that’s awesome. I love sports, too. If you’re a fan who wants to call in, write a barstool blog, have an opinion, etc. – male or female – that’s cool, too. I’ve made my living hearing what fans have to say about Baltimore sports. That’ll be on my tombstone at some point. I’ve dedicated my LIFE to it.

But the difference between being a bartender or an educated caller or sports fan and someone who’s dedicated their lives to it as an “expert” is the same as some drunk PSL holder calling in and really believing they know more about football than John Harbaugh or more about drafting NFL players than Ozzie Newsome.

This might piss some of you off but this is 100% true and you should accept it: you DO NOT know more about football than Harbaugh or Newsome.

And if you go on the radio and take phone calls in live, real time and don’t know what you’re talking about it only takes anyone who DOES know anything about Baltimore sports about 10 minutes to ferret you out as a phony and a fraud.

Does this remind you of anyone you’ve seen in Baltimore? At one of our competitors, maybe? Maybe recently?

The above is my educated “expert” opinion.

Funny, but I like my “experts” to actually BE experts with credentials and information and a track record that supports their claims.

If you like pretty girls then you and I have something in common. If you like sports, then we have another thing in common.

But mixing the two is like saying good doctors make good lawyers. They’re two different skill sets and two different expectations.

I’m waiting to meet the Baltimore female who knows as much about sports as me or anyone on my staff.

If you follow anyone on Twitter based on their looks and take their barstool opinions and thimble-like knowledge of the depth and breadth of sports as “gospel” or “insight” than you’re not really in the market to be educated.

You’re in the market to be “entertained.” (And that’s being kind …)

I watch Entertainment Tonight. I like Access Hollywood.

But those female reporters aren’t hosting sports radio or pretending to be “experts” on the subject matter.

And to think that I’ve been unprofessionally banished from the Orioles clubhouse after reporting on them for 21 years because of my views while women half my age who’ve never heard of Jim Gentile are holding a mic flag in front of them on the field is a disgrace to Baltimore sports journalism.

But then again, the owner is a public disgrace so profound that a sentence should do the trick. Either you’re appalled by the last 13 years of this civic disease or, if you’re a local female journalist, you take a job, get a mic and defend it while your paychecks are signed by Peter G. Angelos every two weeks.

And that’s not a FEMALE thing, that’s MUCH more of a “male” thing. My feelings aren’t based on gender but on straight-up competence.

And this is my opinion after watching this and doing this for a living for past 27 years. And you know how I know my opinion and expertise is significant enough to you?

Because you made it this far. You respect me and you read my work here at WNST.net because at some level, you respect what I’ve done and my knowledge and opinions and integrity regarding Baltimore sports.

Again, one more time: if you are the next Molly Dunham, my email address is nasty@wnst.net.

But be forewarned. I am the Simon Cowell on the Baltimore sports journalism panel of judges.

And if you think I’m hard on you, wait’ll you see how hard the public will be and what they’ll say about you if you do have success!

Or worse yet, wait’ll you see what they write and say when you DON’T know what you’re talking about.

Today is THE DAY …..

In an office high atop a Manhattan skyscraper, a few guys are going to get together for a rather informal conversation. They’ll review these past few months and talk about respective futures. In totality, it will probably be a positively-spirited meeting.

Yet, while this pre-planned summit was likely destined to be private and coincidental, it has turned out to be a far more significant event in the eyes of the collective football world.

I have no doubt Roger Goodell never intended to bring a “TMZ-like” atmosphere to his appointment with Ben Roethlisberger. He has conducted follow-up meetings with players involved in past disciplinary incidents and I’m sure he’ll make future efforts.

However, I would bet my HOUSE this Roethlisberger situation has taught him a valuable lesson for making future follow-up meetings a little less sensationalized.

By now, everybody has heard of Ben Roethlisberger’s drunken transgressions amid the college crowd of Milledgeville, Georgia. Some folks believe he’s a criminal, while others think he was probably just an intoxicated, misunderstood athlete. And, yet, others think his conduct fell somewhere in between the two extremes.

It’s over …. kinda

The criminal case has been closed.

Roger Goodell took punitive action.

Ben Roethlisberger absorbed the financial/reputation hit.

There is nothing left to mitigate, right? Wrong.

When the commissioner enforced the embattled quarterback’s six game suspension, he decided to leave the door ajar and reconsider the length of penalty. Honestly, I think an open-minded approach to such situations is prudent and warranted.

However, I’m not so sure Mr. Goodell should’ve been so disclosing about specific parameters of the sanctions. In doing so, he really boxed himself into a forced decision.

While he confirmed Roethlisberger would serve a six game penalty, Goodell confirmed the “possibility” of a reduction to four games with the same vigor.

Not much room for movement on the final punishment, huh?

Maybe Rog’ didn’t look at the schedule when he formulated the window of 4-6 games. That’s right, he might not have seen the word BALTIMORE next to October 3rd on the Steelers’ schedule.

Then again, maybe he did …. and it didn’t make a difference.

Regardless, he has a decision to make and announce. The finality of that decision will be wagered in his meeting with Ben Roethlisberger and Art Rooney II, this morning.

Speaking of that meeting, I’m sure plenty of cameras and microphones can be found outside NFL Headquarters today.

Enter the TMZ MOMENT …..

I cannot imagine in my wildest dreams that Roger Goodell could be seeking such exposure. It cheapens the NFL’s image on some accounts. The commissioner is handling “dirty business” today and that stuff is usually concelaed from the public eye.

So, who leaked the information on today’s meeting? Or, if wasn’t actually leaked, who made the bright decision of announcing it?

In my blogs, I make a consistent plea for clarity and transparency in most cases. However, I think disciplinary and personnel hearings should have a substantial protection of secrecy. I think all involved parties would want such a convenience.

I think it’s quite fair to suggest Roger Goodell could have handled this entire situation better. Regardless of his decision, a distinguishable group of followers will be upset. And, I think he could’ve avoided such circumstances.

If the penalty stays within the stated guidelines, the hillbillies up in Pittsburgh might just burn a Walmart to the ground. They’ve invested their hopes in a twisting of Goodell’s words in a couple interviews, including the presser at Steelers Training Camp.

Heck, he could’ve said the chances of reducing the penalty lower than four games is ONE IN A BILLION. And, the hopeful Steelers fans would suggest “so you’re saying there is a chance?”

Conversely, if Mr. Goodell chooses to shock the world and reduce the suspension to two of three games, the phones at WNST will never stop ringing after the announcement. And, every feminist group in the country will rail against him.

In the future, he would probably have alot less stress if he announces a punishment and puts it in stone. He can still expect the athlete to succeed at rehabilitation. In fact, he can demand it for the RIGHT REASON; to ensure they change as a person. Dangling a reduced penalty as a reward for those who conform has a dirty feel to it. You know what I mean?

Nevertheless, this Roethlisberger punishment and the impending fallout has become quite circus-like, and Roger Goodell’s actions are a primary reason for it.