Thursday, August 19, 2010

All for one

By and large, there are too many divisions of high school sports in Rhode Island. With fewer than 50 schools, there should be no more than two divisions in each sport. With all these divisions, just about every team, every season, can compete for a “state championship.”

Boys basketball, though, has taken a step in the right direction with the announcement that a single state tournament will decide a single state champion for the 2010-11 season.

It’s about time.

The format — in which the top eight Division I teams, the top five Division II teams and the top three teams in Division III will be included in the tournament field — needs some tweaking. It places too much emphasis on the regular season and doesn’t reward a team that heats up in the postseason.

Overall, though, the idea is a good one and it’ll make for an entertaining basketball season. The idea of Division II and III teams having the opportunity to write their own NCAA-style Cinderella story is intriguing.

As Rogers coach Jim Psaras told me Wednesday night, maybe a Division I team would beat a Division II or III team nine times out of 10, but in a single-elimination tournament, there’s always a chance of that one loss being the end to a season.

The NCAA tournament is the best basketball model there is, and the more in common Rhode Island’s high school tourney has with the Big Dance, the better. Who wouldn’t love to see a team like Middletown knock off a Bishop Hendricken?

What is the difference between the three divisions? This winter, we get to find out.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Later Gator

It was raining last Saturday in Arkansas, and Renee Gork, a sports radio personality covering the Arkansas football team, just grabbed any old hat to keep her hair from getting wet.

The problem? It was a Florida Gators hat.

In most other regions of the country, this would be no problem whatsoever. But this is in SEC country, where families are split apart on game day. Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino answered one of Gork's questions, then immediately followed by saying, "That is the last question I'm answering while wearing that hat."

When I read that quote, I figured he was doing it in a lighthearted sense. Then I watched the video. Not so much. Fans were appalled when they learned of the fashion faux pas, and they made their anger known. Gork's name was battered on message boards, and her e-mail inbox swelled.

Eventually, with too much pressure from fans, and perhaps the university, the station, KAKS, fired her. Now what Gork did is certainly boneheaded, but a fireable offense? Absolutely not.

Turns out she is a UF graduate and even (gasp!) a Florida fan. She just happened to get a job covering the Hogs. Daily News sportswriter Josh Krueger likes the Packers - OK, loves the Packers - and he works here, where the Patriots are beloved. What's the big deal?

Yes, I know not to wear my Patriots hat when I'm in the press box at Gillette Stadium, but if I saw someone wearing a Bengals hat there, I don't think they'd be fired by their publication.

But these days, the almighty dollar speaks pretty loudly, and when hundreds of thousands of Hog fans, people who listen and advertise with the station, want someone out of town, it's see you later, Gator.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Feeling Minnesota

Mere weeks after every national media outlet reported that Brett Favre wasn't going to play this season, every national media outlet now is reporting that he's on his way to Minnesota, presumably to tell the Vikings that he's coming back for a 20th season.

Apparently the Vikings were so desperate to get their 40-year-old QB back that they sent defensive end Jared Allen, offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson and kicker Ryan Longwell to Mississippi to beg Favre to come back. And, apparently, the groveling worked.

As is my stance with most Favre reports, I'm skeptical of this one. I've been of the mind this whole offseason that he was coming back, so the news that he's traveling to Minnesota is no surprise. Perhaps he's just going there to hold another tearful retirement press conference. Or maybe he'll be at practice tomorrow.

Hopefully we find out sooner rather than later. But given that it's Favre, he'll probably drag this out for as long as he can and soak up as much attention as we're willing to give him.

I wish I could say that this Favre nonsense will all be over soon. But we all know that's not even close to the truth.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Caught in a trap

Poor Dustin Johnson.

The American held a three-shot lead entering the final round of the U.S. Open before stumbling to an 82 in the final round. But what happened on Sunday at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straights was even more of a stomach punch.

Johnson led by a stroke in the final round as he reached the 18th tee. His shot veer far right into gallery an into a bunker. Or was it? The sandy patch, despite being trampled on by the gallery for four days, is indeed deemed a bunker by PGA standards, and Johnson grounded his club.

As any golfer or golf fans know, this is a two-stroke penalty. But Johnson said "it never crossed his mind" that it was a bunker. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty and missed the subsequent playoff, eventually won by Martin Kaymer.

It's easy to feel for Johnson, but he should have known to ask for a ruling, as an official was within an earshot of him at the time of the infraction. Johnson was noble in defeat, never claiming he didn't ground the club, but was rather surprised by the ruling, and the fact that it was in fact a bunker.

As a consolation prize, Johnson's fifth-place finish earned him a spot on this year's Ryder Cup team, and hopefully he and have a big impact as the U.S. attempts to defend the title. Furthermore, here's to hoping he can finally win that elusive first major next season.