New Frontiers In Bad Officiating

Women’s Hoops FTW, Well At Least On Friday

It was a rough weekend for the “no one cares about women’s sports” crowd. Ticket prices on the secondary market for Friday night’s semifinal games out priced those of the men’s semis. And as expected, the ratings for the much anticipated South Carolina/Iowa matchup were impressive. It was ESPN’s highest rated non-football event since Game 7 of last year’s NBA Eastern Conference final. As I write this I haven’t seen how the ratings for the men’s Final Four doubleheader compare, but the evidence is clear that interest in the women’s game is rapidly rising .

Best of all, the game completely lived up to all of the hype that preceded it and then some. Both teams played at their highest level, with Iowa going on to outlast the defending champion. The difference was likely due to Aliyah Boston’s foul trouble (an unfortunate harbinger of what was to come a couple of days later) which prevented her from getting into any kind of rhythm. Caitlin Clark continued her monster run; no triple double this time but she dropped 40+ yet again. With a finals matchup against LSU & Angel Reese, anticipation continued to soar.

And while the championship was an outstanding game until LSU put it out of reach in the 4th quarter, the game was overshadowed by atrocious officiating. I generally try to avoid being too hyperbolic, but it may have been the mostly poorly refereed title game I can remember. I know that it’s up to the players to adjust to how the game is whistled and that both teams were victims of the overzealous refs, but they were blowing the whistles on ticky-tack contact from the get go, forcing too many key players to the bench with foul trouble. Worse, they made an egregious technical foul call on Clark. It’s never ideal when the focus of the game is on the officials and not on the players.

Which is a shame because LSU played their hearts out and deserve to be celebrated for their performance. They outplayed Iowa and are worthy champions. They stole a page from Iowa’s playbook and shot the lights out. In addition, the role players really stepped up to compensate for the reduced minutes from some of their important players due to the foul trouble. Hopefully the performance from the refs didn’t mar things too badly, as the rest of the weekend was a perfect showcase for the women’s game. Reese & Clark will both return next year, as will Paige Bueckers and Cameron Brink among others. The game is in great hands and is growing at an ideal time as the next TV deal is scheduled to be negotiated very soon.

On the men’s side the first semi was as good of a game as we could have hoped for. I was concerned that the weekend would be meh with so many of the major stars and big schools already eliminated, but that San Diego State/Florida Atlantic game delivered big time. I loved SDSU’s decision to eschew using their timeout on the final position and attack, forcing the FAU defense back on their heels. Great game, perfect finish. We’ll see what happens tonight. UConn blew out yet another opponent as the Miami game was never really in doubt. Let’s hope tonight is more competitive.

SNL Recap

Quinta Brunson predictably killed in this week’s episode. As a skilled comedic actress, she showed a great knack for elevating her material. Her energy helped make some ordinary premises work, and even the more poorly conceived sketches became watchable with her presence.

Case in point is the sketch that I found to be this week’s highlight. Andrew & Devon portrayed two clubgoers talking in the restroom about scoring some coke. Marcello as a men’s room attendant tells them that he can get them some high quality product. They want to be sure it’s pure & he assures them that it pure & white. As it goes on Brunson, Kenan & Punkie all emerge to sell the bros their product, similarly assuring them how pure & white their stuff is. It’s basically several minutes of “it’s so white that” jokes, but the gags & the performances nail it. “It’s so white that it was written & directed by Noah Baumbach.” Outstanding line.

Honorable mention goes to the traffic jam sketch. Mikey with Chloe as his daughter gets angry at Brunson for making an unsafe lane change. They yell at each other from their respective vehicles behind closed windows while pantomiming what they’re saying to increasingly absurd effect. Even this week’s game show sketch was pretty good, with a take on a Newlywed Game type show. One pair of contestants consisted of Punkie & Michael who were neighbors during the pandemic that obviously knew next to nothing about each other, but Kenan & Brunson were the stars of this one. It became clear that he feared having to take care of her if she ever suffers a serious injury. Brunson’s acting skills & her broad range of facial expressions added value.

Otherwise not much to write home about. The cold open dealt with the upcoming indictment, but it didn’t really go anywhere. Neither of the Update correspondent pieces hit, although the prank Che played on Jost worked, as he had arranged for the audience to not laugh at one of his jokes and it really threw Jost off of his game. I did like this week’s Please Don’t Destroy video. It was a nice throwback to the videos they made pre-SNL as they portrayed a trio of clueless bros doing a video of tour of New York’s ethnic foods. They do NOT know how to properly pronounce the word “bodega.”

Overall, with a different host this episode would have gotten a slight passing grade but Brunson raised the level somewhat higher. Well done; hope they keep her number in the Rolodex for a return visit sometime. Next week alum Molly Shannon returns to host for the first time since 2007. Should be a good one.

Heading Towards Springfield

The Naismith Hall Of Fame as per tradition announced its newest class during Final Four weekend. Every sports hall has its own process and standards, and it’s often striking how starkly they contrast with each other. In February the list of 12 finalists was released, and 10 of those were elected, along with 2 additional honorees in side categories. The Hall is somewhat vague about the details of the process, other than saying it takes votes from at least 18 of the 24 electors. For 10 nominees to gain election, it’s clear there is no limit as to many candidates one can vote for; it’s a simple up or down for each.

One can argue over whether that’s appropriate or if it’s better to have some sort of limit but what this process accomplishes is that it prevents a huge traffic jam from accumulating. Let’s use Tony Parker as an example. His credentials are readily apparent. He was the point guard for a 4-time championship team, winning Finals MVP for one of those title runs. At the same time, he was not named to the recent 75th anniversary team and while his stats were impressive, they were nowhere near as gaudy as those of some of his contemporaries. Which makes him a solid choice, but not necessarily an obvious first year inductee. But why make him wait? He’s a Hall of Famer, who would it have benefited if he had to sit by the phone another year? Get him in now, clear him out of the way, and make more room for next year’s inevitable elections of Vince Carter and Maya Moore among others.

This contrasts with the Baseball Hall process, which sadistically forces candidates to wait year after year as they inch towards the 75% mark. I don’t buy the let the process work mentality either. This may sound morbid, but tomorrow is not promised to any of us. Baseball Hall voters may feel that they are voting on men in their 40s & 50s so they’ve got time, but who knows if someone will suddenly get sick and not live to see their induction? Or, simple math would show that any HOF candidate would have parents or coaches that mentored them in their youth who are elderly. Let them be able to share their special day with the important people in their lives while there’s still time. And it’s even more dramatic when you consider the era committee votes. Make that a simple yes or no vote with no limits. If that means a large induction class, so what? If you as a voter feel a guy is hall worthy, get him in. Candidates on those ballots are often septuagenarians or older. Don’t replicate the Ron Santo induction and elect someone one year too late.

As far the Naismith class, it’s another star studded one. Pau Gasol, Becky Hammon, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Gregg Popovich, and Dwyane Wade are all outstanding choices, as is Gary Blair. I’m not sure how much I would campaign for a junior college or a D-III coach, not to mention a long serving major college coach who never led a team to the Final Four, but I would never rain on someone’s parade, so congrats as well to Gene Bess, David Hixon and Gene Keady. The Hall will also induct Jim Valvano as a contributor, as well as the pioneering 1976 Olympic Women’s team. The international committee did not select anyone this year.

Daniel Bard

Arguably the single biggest net positive that the sports world has contributed to current society is the steps it has taken to reduce the stigma concerning mental health issues. The “it’s okay to admit you’re not feeling okay” mentality has become increasingly prevalent in sports and that’s a good thing. Sports has always encouraged and promoted alpha type personalities, and if even the seemingly strongest can say that they sometimes need mental health assistance, it can only help others take the steps they need to seek aid.

Daniel Bard of the Colorado Rockies is the most recent to take that step. He had actually walked away from the game for several seasons to deal with his mental health, being out of the majors for 7 seasons before returning to the game in 2020, culminating with an outstanding season for Colorado last year. The first sign that he might be having a relapse came in his appearance facing Venezuela in the WBC. He was unable to find the plate, most notably through the pitch that broke Jose Altuve’s thumb. Pitchers lose control all the time, often it’s simply a mechanical issue, but knowing Bard’s history red flags came up especially because he clearly appeared to be in distress while on the mound that night. Now we know.

It’s difficult not to think of how many careers would have turned out differently had mental health not been such a taboo in the past. Could the careers of Steve Blass or Rick Ankiel been rescued? Or fielders with throwing yips such as Mackey Sasser or Chuck Knoblauch? And of course, the greater importance lies outside the world of pro sports and seeing famous athletes set examples that could have a positive impact on the lives of ordinary people. We may never know how many lives have been saved by Kevin Love or Naomi Osaka or Simone Biles publicly stating that they need help.

Sadly, this comes with pushback from awful people. We’ve seen statements from people scoffing at the issue, believing that it’s being used as a convenient excuse to explain a poor performance. Ignore those people; it’s the more humane thing to give someone the benefit of the doubt. You never know what someone else is going through. That even applies to the skepticism that surrounded Ben Simmons. I understand the impulse to not believe him when he was seen at the end of his Philly era acting disengaged from his teammates and not trying to put in any effort. But who knows if his public actions were a simple coping mechanism?

Anyway, wishing nothing but best thoughts for Daniel Bard, and hoping that this time off is what he needs to make himself better. Here’s hoping that his example will help others that are similarly suffering know that they are not alone. And wishing the same for John Fetterman as he returns to the Senate later this month.

Lightning Crashed

Many of you may have seen the recent Rolling Stone article concerning the drama surrounding 90s alternative rock band Live. The foundation of the story was nothing new. It diverged slightly from the standard band breakup tale with its involvement of an incarcerated conman as a supporting character, but otherwise there wasn’t much that hasn’t been seen in multiple episodes of Behind the Music. A group of young friends start a band, they become hugely successful, egos get in the way, things fall apart as popularity wanes, some members want nothing to do with each other, a skeletal version of the band tours the nostalgia circuit, etc.

What stands out in general about the band Live is that they are a prime example of a phenomenon that often fascinates me. No artist remains on top forever. It’s always interesting to me to see which ones are able to remain in the spotlight and which ones fade into obscurity. It’s especially striking when an artist that has achieved tremendous success essentially find themselves in witness protection, invisible enough & forgotten enough that they don’t even fall into the Where Are They Now file.

Make no mistake, Live was briefly one of the biggest acts in the biz. Like any Gen-Xer, I had my copy of Throwing Copper. I don’t even recall actually purchasing it, it is almost as if it magically appeared in my collection. Their ubiquity started to get aggravating; if I had to hear Lightning Crashes one more time it might have been enough to make me leap out of a moving car. It didn’t last long; by the time their follow up came out the alternative craze was waning, and the album was awful to boot.

The odd part about their waning fame is that America seemed to collectively decide that they never existed to begin with. They didn’t become a punchline the way that Smash Mouth did. They didn’t become shorthand for “can you believe we used to listen to stuff like this?” the way that say, Candlebox or Bush did. They were just there and suddenly weren’t.

As I said, it’s interesting to me to see which artists remain in our cultural consciousness and which don’t. One name from the past who always really jumped out on me was Juice Newton. There was a period in the early 80s when she had hit after hit, but I never saw or heard anything from her in decades. Obviously an artist not based in the states has a tougher time, and someone that’s based in a gatekeeper city such as New York or L.A. can more easily keep themselves in the public eye. Any other suggestions of once massively successful artists who vanished off the face of the earth that you can think of?

Wrapping It Up For Today

Thanks again for being part of the Tending The Herd family. Word of mouth is always a powerful force, so please spread the word if you’re a fan. Or even if you’re not a fan. See you all again on Wednesday.