Occasionally, I see things outside of the sports world that gets my blood boiling.

Mel Gibson

This week it was an interview I read about Mel Gibson and his return to the screen in “Edge of Darkness.” I believe I’m a fairly empathetic person, as I think most people in this country are, so I wasn’t going into this article with an agenda. “The Passion of the Christ” might get some people fired up, but a person has as much of a right to make that movie as Michael Moore has a right to make “Bowling for Columbine.” Gibson’s anti-Jewish remarks were a lot harder to take, but I believe people screw up and should be given a second chance.

But then I kept reading and started getting mad for a different reason.

What does this have to do with sports you ask? Here’s an excerpt from that article by Geoff Boucher, Chicago Tribune reporter:

Mel Gibson took a deep breath, shook his head and stared down at his palms. “I just can’t do this. You’ve got me at a disadvantage.” The movie star, his voice a croak, was a mere 19 minutes into an interview, but it was clear there was no way he was going to make it to 20.

“I’m coming rapidly to the conclusion that right now, today, my brain cannot function. Honestly? I’m six days off the cigarette. You’re looking at someone who’s having a pretty bad withdrawal from a 45-year habit.”

The question that sent the jittery Gibson on his way out of the room was about the cultural riptides that await anyone who brings religion into the modern public life of Hollywood. “I’m not running away from it. I want to give you a fair trot. I like where you’re coming from with these questions. I just feel ill-equipped to answer.”

Gibson just walked away from the interview! Now, he came back three days later to finish the interview but really never answered the question.

Could you imagine what the media and public would do to an athlete that pulled the same thing? I do. He’d be absolutely vilified. If Michael Vick walked away from a question about how the public views those who have been punished for animal cruelty, people would absolutely blast him.

Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson was a college-educated baseball player, a rarity in the early 1900s.

This is nothing new. Movie and TV stars have always been treated differently than athletes. When Hall of Fame pitcher Christy Mathewson came into major leagues in the early 1900s, baseball players were treated as second-class citizens. They stayed in third-rate hotels and were looked down upon by the public as hooligans. Mathewson’s presence began to usher in a new era of ball player. Mathewson was college educated at Bucknell University, definitely a rarity for his time. He was nicknamed “The Christian Gentleman” and went against all the baseball player stereotypes.

Over the years, more and more educated players began entering the major leagues. And now we are miles away from those early days of hooligans playing the game. But still, the stereotypes persist.

I’m not saying that athletes get unfair treatment. In fact, I think they should be held to a high standard. But I think TV and movie celebrities should be held to that same standard.

Why should their acts get a free pass?

Forbes Magazine recently came out with its annual list of the most valuable NFL franchises.

But the surprising thing wasn’t that the Dallas Cowboys were number one on the list. In my opinion, the most startling fact is that an impressive number of smaller market teams were up pretty high on the list.

Looking over the names of the teams in the top third, it seems like the owners of smaller market teams that put some  care into putting a good, winning product on the field; as well as having the players active and involved in the community have seen their profits skyrocket:

Seeing teams in small markets like the Buccaneers (8), Broncos (10), Ravens (11), and Panthers (12) ranked ahead of large market and well established teams like the Steelers (16), Packers (17), Raiders (32) does my heart some good.

All four of those teams and their owners are some of the best at reaching out in their communities and show that even in tough economic times, the “good neighbor” thing can work– and in fact it can have a huge positive impact on the value of a business.

I was listening to the interview of Buffalo Bills Owner Ralph Wilson Jr who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame later this year. And something he said after being nominated struck me. He criticized other owners, that in his opinion, ‘took the easy way out’ and abandoned their cities for greener pastures. And Wilson’s right. What ever happened to loyalty? The truth is, loyalty in sports went out the door in 1984. In 1984 sports, and pro football in particular,  became all about the money.

Wilson said there were many times when he had considered moving his team but when it came time to pull the trigger, despite being tempted by more money and greater profits, it always came back to doing what was right for the city and doing what was right for the people of Buffalo. He said that he had gotten in to sports ownership for the thrill of competition, not for more money. As he put it, and I paraphrase, “if you’re an owner of a pro team, you’re doing ok financially.”

He needs to be applauded for staying loyal to the people and city of Buffalo. Oh if there were only more professional sports owners with this mindset today!

Unfortunately, Mr. Wilson is an increasingly rare breed of owner. Even as he grows older and talks about the future of the Bills after he passes, he admits that they will likely be sold to the highest bidder. It would be great if former Bills great Jim Kelly, could swoop in and save the Bills, but it already appears the league is shopping them around, even scheduling Bills games in Canada to ‘expand the fan base.’ Whatever.

It’s a sad situation, especially if you know any Bills fans. They are some of the best, most loyal, most knowledgeable fans around. It would be a shame to give them the shaft.

But as I said above, there was a pivot point, a time when this type of thing became acceptable. Sports stopped being about hometown pride and loyalty and started to be about cash. Sports were always about hometown spirit and building legend. But a fateful night in 1984 changed it all. Other teams had changed cities before. But it had mostly happened when a league failed, realigned, or disolved. When the storied Baltimore Colts franchise, under the ownership of Robert Irsay, snuck out of Baltimore under cover of night, pro football officially changed. It no longer was about hometown spirit or pride, or loyalty, it became all about expediancy and the money.

Irsay set a precedent. Is your team having a down year? Not filling the stadium? Simply want a shiny new stadium? There’s an easy, quick answer- move the team.  Unfortunately now that’s the mindset of most owners. Now each year loyal fans are subjected to the rumors about the professional teams likely to relocate.

So for the Bills fans out there, I am rooting for you. I truly hope that Jim Kelly comes through or that another Ralph Wilson type buys the team. But in the meantime, steel yourself. Prepare for the fact that football is no longer about city pride or loyalty. Enjoy the games, support your team at every opportunity. Enjoy the great product on the field and the amazing athletic feats that are performed. But don’t get too attached to the players or even the colors on the jerseys. Harden your sensibilities and embrace the fact that football is all about business these days, not the name of the city on the jersey or the hearts of the fans that fill the stadiums. But don’t be too sad, it’s been that way since 1984.

With the biggest sports game in the world set for later this week, an unexpected contest has been stealing all the headlines recently. And the game wasn’t even close. In fact it was a blowout.

Once again, ethics and sports have become front and center with news of a girls high school basketball game where the score got out of hand. In Texas, Covenant School defeated Dallas Academy 100-0.  That’s not a misprint!

Following the game, the winning school offered an apology saying, “a victory without honor is a loss.” In the subsequent days, Covenant’s coach refused to apologize for the win or his players performance and was later fired by the school.

But this blowout, isn’t anything new. It just highlights the age old question - what is the goal of amateur sports? Are athletics all about winning or is there much more to it?  Without getting too much into it, I’ll simply stick with the latter.

Speaking of lopsided scores, this also brings me to an interesting fact for stat buffs. What was the largest margin of victory in college football history?

The answer - In 1916, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222- 0. The only picture of game action is posted above.

So what do both losing teams have in common aside from their lopsided losses? Now both Dallas Academy and Cumberland wear their losses as a badge of honor.

The scoreboard from the infamous 222-0 game.

In September, a birthday passed with little acclaim: the most monumental invention in football, the forward pass. 

It seems strange now to think that football didn’t always have the pass.  But nothing exists in a vacuum.  Football evolved from Rugby, where the forward pass is illegal, so in the start, it was only natural to not allow passing.

To trace the pass, you have to go back over a hundred years ago.  There is no “real” professional football.  Passing has only been used illegally, accidentally, and/or experimentally.  The game is popular in high schools and colleges and it is extraordinarily violent.  Violent as in people were dying violent.  There was some movement to try and ban the sport. Read the full story