Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White

So a while back I got into a friendly argument with someone about the firing of coaches in professional sports, with me advocating a theory that the NHL fires more head coaches during the season than any other professional sport. How’s that position worked out for me so far this season? Not so good.

Having just barely passed the quarter-season mark of their respective seasons there have already been 5 firings of head coaches in the NBA, compared with only 3 (I believe) in the NHL. The NBA coaching carnage timeline:

November 22nd – Oklahoma City Thunder fire coach P.J. Carlesimo after an abysmal 1-13 start. This team just stinks. I’m not kidding. They are seriously bad and could well threaten the NBA record worst season ever mark of 9-73 set by the Philadelphia 76ers during the 1972-1973 season (the Thunder are currently 2-21). Getting fired is never a “good” thing, but once he’s got some distance on it P.J. may actually come to the conclusion that in this case it wasn’t necessarily a “bad” thing either.

November 24th – Washington Wizards fire coach Eddie Jordan after a 1-10 start. Even though the Wizards have been without franchise player and All-Star Gilbert Arenas the entire season, the team still has enough talent that they should have been able to make a better showing than that. The early season problems had nothing to do with an inability to score – the team averaged 95 points a game through its first 11 – but rather a total lack of defense. Since Jordan was ousted the team hasn’t improved much in that area, going 3-6 and allowing an average of 104 points a game by the opposition.

December 3rd - Toronto Raptors fire coach Sam Mitchell after a disappointing 8-9 start, including the worst defeat in team history, a 132-93 loss to the Denver Nuggets. Of all the firings this one is probably the most “unfair” to blame on the coach as the team was seriously hampered early on by injuries to key players Jermaine O’Neal (knee) and Jose Calderon (hamstring). Of course the mediocre record was probably just an excuse for GM Bryan Colangelo to get rid of Mitchell. Colangelo, who inherited Mitchell when he became GM in 2006, prefers to run a much more up-tempo, European style offense and Mitchell’s approach is more traditional and conservative. If not now, Mitchell’s firing was most likely inevitable simply because of the philosophical differences between him and the front office.

December 8th – Minnesota Timberwolves fire Randy Wittman and replace him with Kevin McHale. Yes, that Kevin McHale, and this pretty much signals the beginning of the end for him in MInnesota. Anytime an owner asks the GM to come out of the front office and start coaching it’s inevitably a precursor to the GM getting the ax. In essence, the owner is saying to the GM, “You made this mess, you clean it up.” And McHale won’t be able to; the Timberwolves are a floundering mess at 4-18, prevented from being the cellar dwellers in the Northwest Division only because they’ve got the putrid Oklahoma City Thunder in the same division.

December 13th – Philadelphia 76ers fire Maurice Cheeks, despite having given him not one but two contract extensions in the past 12 months. Though the 76ers are a disappointing 9-14, they did add Elton Brand over the off-season and it does sometimes take a little bit of time to fully integrate a new, key piece and shake the kinks out. Of all the coaches kicked to the curb it is Mo Cheeks that I feel the worst about. Not only is Cheeks a 76ers legend, having been one of the team’s starting guards during their championship ‘82-’83 season, but he’s also just an unquestionably class act. He’ll get another head coaching position soon, and any team should be proud to have him.

So, 45 days into the season and 16% of all NBA head coaches have already been fired. And it may not be over yet, as rumors abound that Sacramento Kings coach Reggie Theus and Memphis Grizzlies coach Marc Iavaroni may be next on the chopping block. And though I still maintain that year-in and year-out over the past 20 years the NHL has fired more coaches during their active season – and earlier in the season – than the other professional leagues, there can be no denying that this year the NBA is king of the coaching carnage.

Well, Tommy Bowden was fired* by Clemson after a 10 year run, Ty Willingham was ousted in Washington (but will coach out the season), and now Phil Fulmer will also be out at Tennessee at the end of this season. Those are some pretty high profile firings so far this year, and there’s still 4 weeks to go!

Bowden, who had just signed a contract extension at the end of the 2007 season, was 72-45 overall at Clemson, with 8 bowl appearances in his 10 years. His downfall, however, was a failure to ever win the ACC title. His firing has not been without repercussions, as the Tigers have already lost 5 “name” recruits who had committed to Clemson before Bowden was let go and who now want to take their skills elsewhere.

Fulmer’s firing is a head scratcher on the face of it. His career record is 150-51 (.766), he was 10-4 in 2007 and 9-4 in 2006, has taken Tennessee to a bowl game 15 of his 16 seasons, and only had 1 losing season in 16 years when he went 5-6 in 2005, though he was 10-3 in each of the two seasons before that. Fulmer’s downfall, similar to Bowden’s, would seem to be struggles within conference despite overall winning records; Tennessee is only 14-12 in their last 26 SEC games and hasn’t won the SEC since 1998.

Tyrone Willingham’s is by far the easiest of these to understand in my opinion. Since his arrival in Washington Willingham has not had a single winning season, going 11-32 over the past 4 years (including 0-8 this year, and counting) and has, obviously, not taken the team to a bowl game during his tenure. Add to that his losing record his last two years at Notre Dame (and two bowl game losses there) and, despite him being by all accounts a great guy, he is arguably just not a very good coach… at least not since he left Stanford.

*technically he “stepped down”, but that is in name only and we all know that he was forced out in reality.

The Rams become the first team to fire their head coach this season, ousting Scott Linehan after the Rams lost their 4th straight game amid a questionable decision to bench starting QB Bulger, a move that was publicly questioned by several players, including star RB Stephen Jackson. Jim Haslett, former N.O. Saints head coach, has been named the interim coach.

Which brings us to the Lane Kiffin vigil in Oakland… is this the week he finally gets it? Or will crazy Al Davis continue to let Kiffin twist in the wind?

Which other coaches do you think are seriously on the hot seat this season? Herm Edwards in KC (1-3) perhaps? Romeo Crennel in Cleveland (1-3)? Marvin Lewis in Cincy (0-4)?

“Old Man” QBs

In Tennessee, “old man” Kerry Collins (who will be 36 in December) has led the Titans to the first 4-0 start in the team’s history, dating all the way back to their days as the Houston Oilers!

Arizona QB and fellow “old man” Kurt Warner (37 years old) racked up 472 yards passing on 57 attempts, with 2 TDs.

And last, but certainly not least, Brett Favre (39 on Oct. 10th) dusted off his rusty old arm and chucked a career high six touchdown passes… yes, SIX!! Holy cow! The NFL record for TD passes in a single game is only seven. Guess the old man has some magic left in that arm yet! Let’s hear it for the “Old Man QB” brigade!

Contenders or Pretenders?

How ’bout them Cowboys?! No, seriously… how about them? Should the Redskins victory Sunday night in “Big D” be cause for concern? After all, the Cowboys were supposed to stroll to the Super Bowl this year, right? Not to mention, T.O. is getting grumpy (did you see that surly post-game interview?) and that’s not a good thing.

Similarly, has the Broncos “D” been exposed as a serious weakness? The hapless Chiefs (1-3) were able to put up 33 points on them, including a resurgent Larry Johnson rushing for 198 yards (yes 198!!!) and 2 TDs!! Concern in the Mile High city?

Are the glory days on the way back in Buffalo? The Bills have plugged along to a 4-0 start under the steady and developing hand of QB Trent Edwards and solid rushing of Marshawn Lynch. True, it was the Rams they beat this week, but 4-0 is still 4-0.

And speaking of 4-0…. has there ever been a team getting so little talk (ah-hem, R-E-S-P-E-C-T!) for a 4-0 team as the Tennessee Titans?!? All they have is the best defense in the league: #1 in interceptions; #1 in sacks; tied for #1 in turnover differential (+6); #3 in points allowed; #3 in total yards allowed. And offensively, don’t forget early Rookie of the Year contender RB Chris Johnson, who has rushed for 337 yards with a 5.0 per carry average and is quietly being compared by some to Adrian Peterson. Then there’s that “old man” Kerry Collins….

Injury Report

Two players taken off the field on stretchers this week with concerns over hits to the head / possible neck injuries. Arizona’s Anquan Boldin was absolutely smashed between two defenders while trying to catch a pass in the end zone late in the Jets / Cardinals game. Though he is reported to have movement in all extremities, there are questions about whether the hit by Jets defender Eric Smith was an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit. Thoughts?

Broncos WR Clifford Russell was also taken off on a stretcher after being hurt on special teams during kickoff coverage. A team spokesman reported that: “His condition seems to be resolving they are still doing some tests and we are hopeful that he will be coming back on the team plane with us. We are just not sure yet.”

Favre’s replacement in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers, was knocked around in the game against the Bucs, and had to leave the game late in the 4th with a sore (possibly separated) shoulder. An MRI and other tests today will nail down how badly it’s hurt, and the GB faithful are praying it isn’t serious.

I don’t get baseball. I mean, I do, but I don’t. If a game is on television I can certainly follow it. I understand what the various positions are, what the object of the game is, etc. I even know a fair amount about the teams and players because I am a sports fan in general and tend to remember the things I read (sports magazines) and hear (ESPN radio & tv). But there are most definitely some aspects of baseball that, not only do I not “get”, I find downright silly.

Different Leagues, Different Rules?

Hockey has the national hockey league – one league, one set of rules. Football has the national football league – one league, one set of rules. Basketball has the national basketball association – one league/association, one set of rules. But baseball is made up of two different leagues, with different rules. What? Baseball is a sport that, above all others, prides itself on statistics, right? The game is built on and measured by stats out the wazoo, right? Well how in the world can those stats be worth anything when people aren’t compiling them in a uniform environment with uniform rules??? From team to team, game to game, the players literally aren’t playing on the same field.

Sure the infield may be the same from park to park, but the outfields sure aren’t. Not only might one park have a right field wall distance of 325′ while another’s is 340′, the distances aren’t even consistent within the same park! Comerica’s right field wall is 330′, while the left field wall is 345′. That’d be like the goal posts at Lambeau Field being 10 yards deep in the end zone at one end and 25 at the other. And not only is the distance from home plate to the outfield walls not standardized, the height of the outfield walls isn’t either. Some parks may have outfield walls that are 8′ high, while others may be 15′ high (or more). Oh, and one side may be higher than the other even within the same park. Again, that’d be like the goal posts being 10′ high in one NFL stadium and 15′ in another stadium… or, even weirder, 10′ high in one end zone but 20′ in the other end zone of the same field. How would that make sense??

Forget steroids (for the sake of this discussion), with no uniform size to ballparks how can home run statistics mean anything? One player could play in a “hitter’s park” his entire career and rack up big home run numbers by hitting balls out over a close (312′), short (8′) outfield wall, while another may play in a cavernous setting (345′ outfield walls) with a Green Monster (37′ high) to contend with. Again, for comparison, that’d be like comparing touchdown numbers between running backs where one played on a 100 yard home field and another on one that was only 75 yards long. One inarguably has an easier row to hoe, so how can they be comparable?

Other than (1) they never have been, or (2) it gives each park “character and charm”, can someone please give a serious, logical reason why baseball field dimensions aren’t standardized? Because it certainly doesn’t make sense to me from a logical, competitive point of view…. and I didn’t even get into the differences in foul territory area.

Temper Tantrums and Underoos

A grown man runs up to another, red faced and angry. Gets right in the other man’s face, yelling and screaming. Spittle flying, chests bumping. having to be restrained. Heck, if he’s angry enough you may see dirt kicked, caps torn off in disgust, even bases ripped out of the ground and thrown. Ah, the baseball manger meltdown. You get at least one a week, often delaying the process of the game (a game that already lasts forever) interminably when the manager refuses to leave the field even after his antics get him ejected.

You don’t see hockey coaches running out onto the ice and getting in the ref’s face when they disagree with an icing call. Football coaches may yell, but they don’t get physically confrontational and chase the officials out onto the field. And basketball coaches may be a bit more inclined to argue with the officials than their hockey and football counterparts, but you still don’t see them throwing the gatorade cooler around or running all over the court making a spectacle of themselves (Bobby Knight notwithstanding ). Why is this type of tantrum acceptable (expected even) from baseball managers? Didn’t most of us grow out of this type of behavior shortly after the “terrible twos”?

And speaking of making a spectacle of themselves… why, oh why, do baseball managers wear the same uniform as the players?!? Imagine a hockey or basketball coach dressed like one of his players. Or an NFL coach on the sidelines decked out with shoulder pads and helmet. It would look absolutely ridiculous…. as do baseball managers! Don Zimmer may be a legend and a great guy, but do we really need to see an overweight, 76 year old man in his underoos sitting in the dugout?

Was it customary at some point in the past that managers were also players? At least then it would make sense why they wore the uniform. But that is certainly not the case now, so why do it??? And why are they “managers” anyway, not coaches??

Just Part Of The Game, Or A Crime?

If I picked up a fist sized rock and threw it at your head – intentionally – that would be a crime. Yet, in baseball, it’s “just part of the game” for the pitcher to intentionally throw the baseball at someone. WTF?! I don’t care that they’re wearing helmets, getting hit in the head with a baseball can cause concussions, fractured skulls, ruptured eardrums, or even kill you! So why is it acceptable in baseball to intentionally throw a potentially lethal object at another person’s body or head?

And for the STUPIDEST reasons! At one point this past season a young player had the audacity to hit a home run off of Roger Clemens. You know what happened the next time that kid came up to bat? You guessed it! Clemens intentionally threw at him. WHY?! Because that kid did his job and hit the ball?? How in the world does that make sense??? That’d be like a wide receiver catching a touchdown and then the next time he comes on the field the cornerback he beat deliberately taking him out with a clothesline. It wouldn’t make sense and it wouldn’t be justified. But hey, just part of the game in baseball, right?

Which leads me back to the different leagues / different rules point. Pitchers don’t have to bat in the American League, so it’s even more egregious to me when pitchers in the AL throw at batters because they never have to fear walking up to the plate and getting plunked in retribution for one of their beanballs. No, one of their teammates will have to suffer that fate. Doesn’t matter which player, whomever is next up in the lineup will do.

Hopefully I’ve not (seriously) offended you baseball lovers out there. I have written this a bit tongue-in-cheek, but my questions and observations are nevertheless serious. I don’t understand why ballparks aren’t standardized in size. I don’t understand why mangers throw temper tantrums and wear the same uniform as the players. And I don’t understand why deliberately throwing a lethal object at batters is “acceptable” – even expected – behavior.

I guess I’m just not a baseball person.