Month: February 2015

Stuart Scott’s legacy

Chris McGlynn Uncategorized ,

I have written a bunch of tribute pieces on athletes this past year who are finishing their career in various sports. This one is a little different though. It is not for an athlete and no one is retiring. This is a tribute piece for a man who lost his life battling cancer. Stuart Scott spent the better part of the last 7 years fighting his cancer. Twice it went into remission, but both times, it came back worse than before. Yet, Scott never let it affect his life. He continued to work through the disease, refusing to let it take over his life. This is his story.

Stu and Alan
Scott passed away on January 4, 2015. He was 49.

Stuart Orlando Scott was born on July 19, 1965 in Chicago, Illinois. That was not where he called home though as his family moved to North Carolina, where Scott spent most of his childhood. He grew up with a brother Stephen and two sisters Synthia and Susan. Scott graduated from Richard J. Reynolds High School where he was not the only famous graduate. Former U.S. Senator Richard Burr, Hall of Fame sports writer Mary Garber and musician Ben Folds all spent their time at the Winston-Salem school. Scott then went on to study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a communications undergraduate student. This is where Scott honed his craft initially. Scott joined the student-run radio station WXYC and became an on-air talent.

After graduation, Scott started working for an ABC affiliate television station, WPDE in South Carolina. He only stayed rough a year before he jumped to a Raleigh station named WRAL in 1988. WRAL posted an article yesterday after the news of Stuart’s passing broke. Sports anchor Jeff Gravely said in the article that Scott had “a natural bond” with the sports department. Scott made his mark at WRAL and is still fondly remembered there today. Scott spent three years working in Raleigh before he made the move to Orlando, Florida and began working for an NBC affiliate WESH. It was at WESH where Scott made his connection to ESPN in producer Gus Ramsey.

By 1993, Scott had made a bit of a name for himself. Not a bad thing to do at the age of 28. He joined ESPN to help launch ESPN2 and Scott’s recognition shot up from there. He became a staple on the later editions of “Sportscenter” and introduced the rest of the world to his unique phrases, like “Booyah!” and “cooler than the other side of the pillow.” Scott is quoted talking about his start at ESPN in Those Guys Have All The Fun, a book written by James Miller and Tom Shales about the network’s rise to prominence. Scott said, “ESPN was my first full-time sports job. I don’t think any of it ever came easy, but that’s not to say it wasn’t fun back then. Something can be difficult and fun.” Scott embraced the change and set to work on becoming a facet of ESPN broadcasting.

Scott became one of the best-known faces in sport journalism. He also experienced some previously unheard of practices in journalism. In 2004, Scott joined a team of anchors and took Sportscenter on the road. The first stop they made was to Kuwait. To Scott, it was like nothing he had ever experienced in his professional career. He said in the same book, “The applause we got from the troops was thunderous.” He added, “I remember thinking, ‘This should be reversed. It should be me cheering for them.’” While this was his job, his career, his life work, Scott knew how to put it all in perspective.

Scott, in total, spent 21 years working for ESPN. He managed to be a part of an explosion in the sports world for delivering sports news. He found a way to touch so many different people in his time with the network. It all culminated at the 2014 ESPYs, where Scott received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and gave an incredible speech reminiscent of former ESPN mainstay Jim Valvano years before. The link is here and the fact that Scott made the trip is simply unbelievable. He brought the audience to tears as he finished his speech and embraced his daughter Sydni on stage. Just Scott showing the world that yes Stuart Scott is just a human as the rest of us.

Forget race, gender or anything else you want to categorize Stuart Scott by. Scott was one of the greatest sport journalists I have ever had the honor to watch at work. He has been a great component in broadening the boundaries of what is acceptable for professional behavior on the air. He was genuine and dedicated and he will be sorely missed. Thank you Stuart for all of the hard work you put into your career. It has been an inspiration to me and I am sure several others to continue pursuing one of the greatest jobs in the world. But more than that, you did your job with integrity. And all I can say to that is thank you. Rest in peace.

Rebuilding Knicks?

Chris McGlynn Basketball, NBA

A three team trade was announced last night in the NBA between the Thunder, the Cavaliers and the Knicks. The trade involved six players and a couple of draft picks. The Thunder received Cleveland guard Dion Waiters, while the Cavs landed J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert, previously of the Knicks, and Oklahoma City’s future first round pick. New York landed Alex Kirk, Lou Amundson and Lance Thomas, the first two from the Cavaliers and Thomas from the Thunder, and a 2019 draft pick from Cleveland. Everyone is looking at how it affects the Cavs and the Thunder because both teams are likely playoff bound. I want to look at the Knicks, who, to me anyway, seemed to have taken whatever deal the team could find without really maximizing its potential.

The Knicks have been one of the worst teams in the league this year and their record shows it. New York scores the second fewest points per game and rank in the bottom third of the league for shooting percentage. Defensively, the Knicks are mediocre as well. New York sits as the 21st scoring defense and 24th in shooting percentage against. That includes allowing teams to shoot almost 40 percent from behind the arc, worst in the NBA. Derek Fisher’s team also has the third worst point differential in the league. The Knicks are more than on their way to a top-5 pick with their 5-32 record. This team cannot even rebound well as it ranks second to last in that category as well.

The issue for the Knicks organization now is that they need to rebuild this team. This team does not frighten anyone and will not with the current core of players. The front office knows that but is not doing much to start that process. Sure, shipping Smith and Shumpert to Cleveland is a nice sentiment but the Knicks got back three role players with non-guaranteed contracts and a second round pick, for four years from now. That provides zero help for the immediate future. It makes Kirk Amundson and Thomas likely candidates to be dealt again because of the contract flexibility but it is useless in reality. It accomplished next to nothing. The organization has no new draft picks to bolster this aging and talent-strapped roster. The Knicks’ plan will be to most likely build around Carmelo Anthony for the near future due to the nature of his contract that he signed just this past offseason.

The reality is that this trade does next to nothing to help New York. It allowed them to jettison two players the team had been shopping for a long time but it did not really bring in much in the way of trade ammunition either. The Knicks are, if it is even possible, actually in worse shape after engineering this trade. The front office sold out on the present but failed to buy into the future. They opened up a ton of cap space for themselves in the coming offseason but the free agent pool does not project as well as the Knicks need it to. New York also is not a very appealing place to play right now when the starting lineup sits as Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr., Anthony, Jason Smith and Cole Aldrich. That starting five does not intimidate anyone, nor does it make it easy to sell potential free agents on the Knicks. This team needs a huge overhaul and the front office is not making the best effort to make that happen. That is just my opinion. Let me know yours and whether you think the Knicks are on the right track to rebuilding.

LA does it again

Chris McGlynn EPL, MLS, Soccer ,

There were all sorts of questions floating around the Galaxy at the end of this season. Landon Donovan was retiring, Robbie Keane was rumored to be leaving and Los Angeles expected to lose players in the expansion draft. This team might have just won the MLS Cup, but as soon as last year ends, a new one begins. For the front office, there is no offseason. Earlier today, the front office for LA got to work as it was announced Liverpool captain Steven Gerard announced his intentions to join the Galaxy following the end of the Premier League season. Just when it seemed like the Galaxy would be running out of star power, LA managed to land another great towards the end of his career who can still contribute. Let’s take a look at what Gerrard brings to this Galaxy squad.

Gerrard was a member of Liverpool for each of the last 16 years. The Premier League squad brought him through its youth academy eventually signing him in 1998. Gerrard has made 695 appearances for the Reds and scored 180 goals in all competitions. Gerrard brings a fierce competitor and leader to an LA team that will be missing that with Donovan’s absence. His 180 goals rank number one in Liverpool’s 122-year history. His goals per appearance ratio is not anything spectacular at 0.23 but he is truly a once in a generation player. He ranks as the second best scoring midfielder in EPL history only behind Frank Lampard.

Gerrard will mostly emulate Donovan though in how he orchestrates the offensive attack. Gerrard ranks second in Premier League history for assists with 100. He is crafty and while his legs have begun to lose some of that spring he had as a younger man, he will find ways to mentally beat his opponents. Gerrard is not the same player as Donovan but without a doubt, he fills a similar role that allows LA to maintain close to the same attack style it employed this season. Gerrard will most assuredly find himself setting up Keane and Gyasi Zardes on multiple occasions.

This move will mark yet another former international superstar to come to MLS following the prime of his career in a European league. While it is certainly exciting, it still underlines the continual problem the MLS has with landing big stars before the decline in their career begins. The movement started with Beckham back in the early 2000s and has rapidly accelerated this year with Kaka, Frank Lampard and David Villa all set to join MLS this season. Now Gerrard will be added to the mix.

It should continue to drum up interest in the MLS though stateside though. That has been one of the league’s greatest weaknesses. It has been unable to really turn itself into a major North American sport due to how enamored the U.S. is with football, hockey, basketball and baseball. However, if these players can boost the popularity enough (after all, sports fans love to watch big name athletes compete) to where the league finds themselves capable of generating more money, we could finally start to see some of these players come over to the US before their career seems all but over. It could only be a matter of time. Gerrard is just another piece in this jumbled up puzzle for the MLS. He should be fun to watch in Los Angeles though once he arrives in June. If he resembles anything close to the Steven Gerrard Liverpool fans have watched play for so long, then LA might be in line to make another run at the cup.

What are the Devils looking for?

Chris McGlynn Hockey, NHL ,

On December 26, the New Jersey Devils’ front office informed coach Peter DeBoer that he was being let go. It was a move that made sense based on where the Devils sat in the standings but I fail to understand the firing past that. I am not saying that DeBoer should have been kept on past this season but I do not know what New Jersey was thinking severing ties before even reaching the midpoint of the season. It is time to take a second look at DeBoer’s dismissal.

Now, I understand that DeBoer was struggling to get positive results from his team, as New Jersey went 12-17-3 this year with him as the coach. The Devils ranked among the bottom teams in the league in terms of goals per game and goals allowed per game. New Jersey’s special teams were struggling as well as the penalty kill ranked in the bottom third of the league. The Devils are also tied for most shorthanded goals allowed with five. All of the shortcomings were abundantly clear for DeBoer’s ability to morph the Devils into a competitive team. Clearly, he was not getting it done any more as the lead man in New Jersey. The Devils organization recognized that and took care of it. That is not the issue. The issue is New Jersey’s course of action after the front office has taken in the days following DeBoer’s release.

It is becoming painfully more obvious by the day that the Devils’ organization did not have a plan in place for how they would proceed following DeBoer’s firing. The team, now more than a week later, has still not announced a head coach. General Manager Lou Lamoriello hinted that the front office might not name anyone head coach for the remainder of the season and instead will have three coaches picking of the slack, making them all assistant head coaches. Not only is that unconventional, it just does not make sense. I understand that DeBoer was struggling as the coach but why would you fire him if you do not intend to replace him. I fail to grasp the logic behind the move.

It has not lead to any newfound success either. The Devils have gone 1-3 since firing DeBoer and are dropping further down the standings. New Jersey now sits 11 points behind the rival Rangers for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While that margin is not insurmountable, it is highly unlikely that the Devils earn twelve more points than New York the rest of the way. So, it does not seem like the Devils’ organization fired DeBoer to make a run at the playoffs either, making this move even more head-scratching. New Jersey does not have enough easy games in January either to make me think that it could potentially climb back into the playoff conversation. The Devils only play three teams this month that do not have more wins than loses. That does not exactly make me too confident.

So once again, the Devils had every right to fire DeBoer. I am not in any way questioning the motive behind the move. I am just perplexed by the handling of the ensuing situation. The New Jersey front office needs to find some stability at head coach because this new model for coaching they are implementing is not very effective. I hardly think that this team stood a chance of turning itself around if DeBoer had stayed on. However, as New Jersey regains star Patrick Elias from illness, thus making the team infinitely more competitive, it makes me think that the Devils would have been better off keeping DeBoer for the time being and waiting until season’s end to let him go. As of right now, I see a team with no direction and no hopes of finding one without a legitimate head coach.

NFL Wildcard madness

Chris McGlynn Football, NFL , , , , , , ,

The Wildcard round of the 2015 playoffs kicks off tomorrow meaning postseason professional football is back. Saturday’s games include the Cardinals versus the Panthers and the Steelers hosting the Ravens. Sunday features the Cowboys taking on the Lions and the Bengals visiting the Colts. The playoffs are unpredictable and can bring out the best in players. Nothing is a sure bet in the NFL, but I will do my best to predict who will win and who will go home.

I will start in Charlotte where the Panthers snuck into the playoffs with a losing record, only the second team ever to do so. That being said, Carolina is hot at the right time as the Panthers won four straight to make the postseason, which included a 34-3 thumping of division rival Atlanta to clinch the division. Arizona on the other hand, has limped into the postseason losing its last two games. The running game has stalled since Andre Ellington landed on injury reserve. The Cards are playing Ryan Lindley at quarterback as well having lost both Drew Stanton and Carson Palmer for the season. Bruce Arians still has the Cardinals alive though between creative play calling and an attacking defense that is capable of keeping Arizona in games, even when the offense sputters. This will be a defensive battle. Carolina caused three turnovers last week and should generate more at home against a shaky Lindley. I think the Panthers have too much momentum and Cam Newton can create just enough offense for Carolina to pull out the victory. Panthers win 24-14.

To the other NFC game, the Dallas Cowboys are in the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and this Cowboys team is definitely better suited to make a Super Bowl run. The Cowboys have one of the most versatile offenses in the NFL between Tony Romo, Demarco Murray and Dez Bryant. Dallas can beat you through the air or on the ground. Romo is having the best season of his career, as is Murray. These two will carry the Cowboys offense when it goes into battle with Detroit. The Lions’ defense has been one of the many surprises of this 2014 season. This unit finished second in total defense, third in scoring defense and tops in rush defense. Those are some elite numbers. The Lions front four grinds on offenses and generates hits on the quarterback. Eventually those start to take a toll. This game will rest more than anything else on Romo’s ability to improvise in the pocket and exploit Detroit’s secondary, which has only been average so far this year. Offensively, Matt Stafford and the Lions have looked out of sync. I do not expect too much from them, especially going on the road Stafford completion percentage on the road is thirteen percent worse than at home and his yards per attempt drops from 8.0 to 6.3. Detroit also has only one win against a .500 or better team this year. Look for Dallas to roll through a Detroit team still a year or two away from seriously contending. Cowboys win 31-17.

Switching over to the AFC, two young quarterbacks will duel in Indianapolis on Sunday when the Colts take on the Bengals. Andrew Luck and Andy Dalton lead their respective teams into a rematch of a Week 7 game. Indy won the regular season matchup between these two teams, blowing away Cincinnati 27-0. However, the Bengals ground attack has vastly improved since then with Jeremy Hill forming an excellent one-two punch with Giovani Bernard. The Bengals can wear down opposing defenses with its running game but this team’s playoff hopes still hinge on Dalton. Luck knows how to generate points and can get the Colts out to a lead in a hurry. If this game rely too heavily on Dalton’s arm, Cincy will lose. Dalton has never performed well in the playoffs and I do not see it starting now as a solid Colts’ pass rush and Vontae Davis roaming the secondary will cause him problems. For the Colts, Chuck Pagano has to be sure he gets Luck to avoid committing early mistakes. The former Stanford signal caller accounted for 28 turnovers this season. If Luck can hold on to the ball, this is Indy’s game to lose. Neither team is perfect but I trust Luck in the playoffs a lot more than I trust Dalton. I think the Colts win 34-21.

Every year, division rivals meet twice during the regular season, unless they matchup in the playoffs. Saturday night brings us one of the best division rivalries in league history as the Ravens travel to Pittsburgh for round 3. Pittsburgh will be without star running back LeVeon Bell meaning Ben Roethlisberger will have more pressure than ever to carry his team to victory. The toughest thing for the Steelers is how much Bell’s injury limits the play calling. Not only was Bell a top rusher, he was also an asset out of the backfield. Pittsburgh could have desperately used a bye week to get ready but Big Ben has shouldered the load before and he knows what is coming his way with a familiar foe. The Ravens are getting back to playing smash mouth football though which could make life difficult for Roethlisberger and company. Justin Forsett has been a revelation at tail back for Baltimore and taken a lot of pressure off Joe Flacco. The Ravens also have a potentially dynamic passing attack if the offense is firing on all cylinders. The Ravens defense finished tied for second this season in sacks with 49. Look for Baltimore to bring the house, as it knows Pittsburgh’s ground attack is weakened. This should be a great game but in the end, the Steelers’ other one-man show, Antonio Brown, should prove to be way too much for a reeling Ravens’ secondary. Steelers win round 3 by a score of 20-13.