Sports Headlines December 2012

Today’s Headlines

So much stuff has happened in the sports world in the past couple of days that I had trouble coming up with a topic to blog about.  Today alone there were newsworthy headlines in baseball, football and college basketball.  It’s been a while since I’ve done a multi-topic blog, and today seems like as good a day as any, especially with everything that’s been going on.

• The Sinners’ Bountygate Scandal is finally over.  Former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue issued his ruling today, and he overturned all four of the players’ suspensions.  He agreed with everything in the NFL’s original finding that New Orleans ran a bounty program for three seasons.  Except he blamed everything squarely on the coaches and the organization.  That’s completely ridiculous.  The bounty program wouldn’t have existed, or lasted as long as it did, without the players being active and willing participants.  They deserved to be fined and suspended.  The fact that they no longer are is a complete travesty.  And a complete injustice.  The NFLPA is, of course, claiming a “victory,” and Jonathan Vilma, the dirtiest player in the league and a guy who needs to learn how to shut up, is “vindicated.”  (It’s not defamation unless you knowingly release false statements, which he’s got no shot of proving.)  But what about Brett Favre and Kurt Warner and the other players that Vilma and Co. were actively trying to injure?  I understand the NFLPA was in a no-win situation, but the best interest of four players was put over the best interest of hundreds of others in the league.  That just seems wrong.  Ultimately, though, it looks like Commissioner Tagliabue simply took the easy way out.  It was in everyone’s best interest to finally put this bounty thing to rest.  At least that was achieved today.

• The remaining actual members of the Big East finally grew a set.  The seven basketball-only schools–including charter members Georgetown, St. John’s and Villanova–finally took a stand about the constantly changing state of the conference.  And finally reminded people that the Big East was founded as a basketball conference.  They don’t want their future dictated by football anymore, and, as the only “Big East” schools that have actually stayed loyal to the conference, have the clout to say something about it.  I’m glad they finally did.  It’s because of the basketball-only schools, the ones that helped make the Big East brand what it is, that the Big East isn’t going away, no matter how hard the other conferences try.  It’s been rumored that they might break off, grab a couple of other Catholic schools that don’t have BCS football programs (like Dayton and Xavier), and form a new conference.  But if they don’t have the Big East brand behind them, I’m not sure how much that’ll work.  The Atlantic 10 is also reportedly sniffing around and wants to absorb the remaining basketball-only Big East schools into that league, but, again, that wouldn’t make much sense.  The Big East brand is much more powerful than the Atlantic 10 brand.  I don’t see them giving that up unless they have to.  To form their own conference, sure, but not to join the Atlantic 10.  (If anything, the A-10 loses some members to a new conference that’s a hybrid of the two leagues.)  Ultimately, it’s probably in their best interest to get away from the football-playing schools, but right now that doesn’t make sense.  In somre rare positive Big East news, they’ve signed a new deal with Madison Square Garden to keep the conference tournament where it belongs.  And as long as St. John’s is in the conference, that will continue to be the case.

• The Yankees have officially signed Kevin Youkilis.  As hard as it might be to believe, I’m actually OK with that.  I’m not looking at him as a once-hated former Red Sok.  I’m looking him as a guy who fills a tremendous need.  They obviously need somebody who can play third base for the first three months of the season.  And with Swisher probably leaving, they need a backup for Teixeira at first base.  Andruw Jones is gone, too.  He went to Japan.  That means a right-handed DH/pinch hitter was also necessary.  Youkilis fits every one of those areas.  Plus, he’s the type of hitter that fits well into the Yankee lineup.  That’s part of what made him so annoying when he was in Boston.  I get why a lot of Yankees fans have a problem with this.  He ranked pretty high on the list of Red Sux players you love to hate.  (For me, Pedroia is and will remain No. 1 on that list.)  The guy with the dirty helmet and the weird batting stance.  But ultimately, I honestly don’t think it’ll take too long for Yankees fans to embrace him.  We accepted Johnny Damon.  In fact, we grew to love him.  Wade Boggs, too.  And Roger Clemens is now thought of more as a Yankee than as a Red Sok by most people.  I predict it’ll be no different with Kevin Youkilis.  As long as he understands that even though it’s technically “available,” No. 20 is off limits.  So is 21.  He can take his pick between 22 and 12.  If he takes 20 or 21, though, it’ll take us a lot longer to come around.