Bleacher Report - Articles by Bermuda Bob

Wimbledon: A Warning To "Grunters" ... Changes I'd Like to See

Bermuda Bob — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:34:19 -0400

The "Powers That Be" @ Wimbledon this year have made it clear they they consider indiscriminate "grunting" worthy of a"Soft Warning" in an effort to bring back some civility to the sport of Ladies and Gentlemen ... and I, for one could not agree with them more !!!

Considering that they have the pedigree to eventually demand such ridiculousness to cease and desist, it cause me to think about other changes which could bring the game of tennis back to it's roots and probably realize a better tennis world ... So, here are my thoughts on changes that could be made to make tennis a better sport to watch and enjoy ...

INORDINATE CELEBRATIONS or EXPRESSIONS OF ANGUISH

Thee is no reason for some of the ridiculous expressions of anger, anguish, or celebration during the match ... save it for when the match is over !!!

OUTLAW CHEAP BALL-CAPS WORN BACKWARDS

I have no problem with a player wanting to wear their ball-caps backwards, but only if they have "fitted" caps ... that adjustable strip is the cheapest hat you can but, so for a few more bucks (which all these kids have) why not go get a fitted cap ???

TWO (2) HANDED PLAYERS

I personally think that if you can't play equally well with one hand, you don't belong on the Tour ...

IMPROPER CLOTHING

Look, you're there to play tennis, not make a fashion statement ... we don't need to see cleavage or nipples ...

STICKING THE 2nd BALL IN YOUR KNICKERS

Not only is it not flattering, there are ball boys & girls to give you your next ball ... so take one ball @ a time !!!

BATHROOM BREAKS

I believe players could be allowed one (1) per set !!!

"LACK OF CONDITIONING"

This one is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of ... in the Aussie and US Open they play in extreme heat and humidity ... if they are playing for more than two (2) hours there is no way to replace the fluids lost thru exertion without an IV drip ... and there is no way cramping should be held against the player !!!

Oh, and while I'm at it ... a layer can raise his/her level of fitness, but that does not mean he/she is "fitter" ... a "fitter" is a person who fits pipes and has no place in a comparative analysis of fitness !!!

COACHING

Why, on God's green earth, can't the player consult with their coach @ some pre-designated intervals ??? Even in Golf, the player has his Caddie to consult ... only in Tennis do they put the player in the field of play all by themselves ... it just seems wrong !!!

The Degradation of College Basketball ...

Bermuda Bob — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:44:28 -0400

I originally became so fond of College Basketball, simply because I was sick and tired of the inflated salaries in the NBA which did not live up to “the good ole’ days” of the Celtics, Lakers, & Knicks !!! I was immediately impressed by kids playing for all the right reasons ... the vast majority of them not having any chance of ascending to the Pros ... and ... actually being there to get an education, too !!!

Rarely did a kid leave early and more often than not, he graduated !!!

Then came the NBA and their big money dangling terms like “lottery pick” & “signing bonus” under the noses of these kids and many took the carrot and left school early to enter the NBA and begin to realize the earning abilities they were promised ... they were told that leaving school early was a smart financial move because of they got injured in college their “stock value” might be adversely affected !!!

Then the NBA became over-populated by underclassmen and the next onslaught were High School kids by-passing college altogether and entering the draft !!! While Kobe, Garnett, & LaBron all became stars, there were others that rapidly faded into obscurity and nobody talked about them ... The NBA was rapidly becoming worried about “parody” because of the underclassmen and High Schoolers, so they passed a rule that a kid had to go to college @ least one (1) year ... and so the degradation began in earnest !!!

The colleges ended up with a number of scenarios and unfortunately, in some cases, reacted inappropriately ... here’s what I mean:

1. JUCO KIDS:

Kids were more interested in making themselves attractive to colleges and spent more time on their “game” than academics in High School ... many could not academically pass muster to even enter college, so the NCAA in their infinite and questionable wisdom set up the JUCO scenario whereby a kid could go to a JUCO and straighten out his academics while still working on his “game” ... this plan never made the kid take any responsibility for his academic shortcomings !!!

2. “ONE-AND-DONE KIDS:

Kids started to market themselves to colleges and letting the schools know well in advance that they were only interested in playing the mandatory year, then making themselves eligible for the NBA draft ... thus creating the new designation of “One-and-Done” recruits ...

3. UNSCRUPULOUS COACHES:

Unfortunately, some college coaches of less than the highest moral and ethical standards actually began to look for these “One-and-Done” recruits as a temporary “fix” to floundering programs and/or because the coach was a better recruiter than a coach !!! Unfortunately these coaches were @ schools and in programmes who looked the other way because a successful season brought in “bucks” !!!

4. SELF-MARKETING RECRUITS:

The next by-product of this movement was that many of these kids began to embark on a elongated competitive marketing of themselves, taking the recruitment process well into the edge of the summer before they would enter school !!!

So, why am I so upset about these trends ... and ... why do I think they a responsible for the degradation of college basketball ??? OK, glad you asked ...

1. JUCO KIDS:

I believe that if a kid has squandered High School years being more interested in his “game” than even meeting the most minimum of academic standards, then he should be held responsible for that choice and NOT be allowed a “back-door” into a D-1 programme where he most certainly will not be able to fully matriculate !!!

Somewhere along the line, accountability must be enforced and realized !!!

2. “ONE-AND-DONE” KIDS:

When the NBA decided it needed to do something to slow down the entry of High Schoolers they passed their rule which essentially set up the college programmes who embraced it, into “wet nurses” for the NBA !!! I believe that if the NBA is interested in fixing a problem THEY caused, they should rescind the rule, or expand it to something closer to the NFL three (3) year rule ... they could also set up a true “developmental league” where the kids would need to earn their way to the regular league ... similarly to the way it is done in European Futbol ...

3. UNSCRUPULOUS COACHES:

Unfortunately they will always be with us ... we all know who they are, but I believe that best way to thwart or @ least diminish their influence on college basketball in general would be to institute the points I make in #2, above !!!

We need to let the kids who want to be in college for an education not have to compete with kids that don’t !!! Universities are there to educate first and entertain second, and those coaches and programmes who can do both are who we should be supporting, NOT coaches who have their values skewed, regardless of school and alumni pressures !!!

4. SELF-MARKETING RECRUITS:

A drop-dead threshold date must be established for kids to commit to a school so as rosters can be set ... I think May 1^st is reasonable because it is a little more than the Final Four ... this would give programmes and coaches plenty of time to finish recruiting !!!

What affect will all this have on college basketball ??? Plenty, and everything positive ... it would erase the ridiculous rule which the NBA selfishly imposed on college basketball and return accountability to both programmes and recruits ... that is, if the NCAA has the chops to institute this !!!

... and for those fear-mongers who will ask about what happens if that player injures himself in college, thus risking his earning power in the NBA ??? Easy, for every kid who suits up in college, the college purchases an insurance policy in an amount which would guarantee his first contract ... payable to the kid ... with no profit to the school !!! In the event the kid is injured and unable to be drafted then the policy kicks in and make him whole !!!

Now is the time to take the bull by the horns and make some substantive changes before college basketball is degraded, diluted, and despoiled !!!

What Did They Say ???

Bermuda Bob — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:25:31 -0400

OK, I’ll admit it ... like William Safire & Justice Scalia, I’m a full-fledged “SNOOT” (an acronym for “SYNTAX NUDNICKS OF OUR TIME”) !!! I have long been the guy who corrected commentators on TV for misuse & mispronunciation of the words they use to describe what they are reporting on ...

What does this have to do with sports ??? Plenty !!!

One of my pet peeves is that no one seems to care that Sports-Casters, Analysts, & Colour Commentators constantly butcher the English language just about every chance they get ... here are some of the utterances that make me the craziest:

“FITTER”

Quite often you will hear Tennis commentators from John McEnroe to just about everyone else refer in a complimentary manner to a player who has increased their fitness level by say that he/she is “FITTER” than before !!! WRONG !!! The proper terminology is “MORE FIT” ... A “FITTER” is someone who fits pipes !!!

“A LACK OF CONDITIONING ...”

OK, so a tennis player is in a five (5) set match in a Major like Australia in January, or the US Open in August ... the temperatures are in the high 90’s and humidity is stifling ... the player cramps up and it’s a “A LACK OF CONDITIONING” ??? People are dropping like flies in the stands simply sitting on their butts but the players who have sweat thru half a dozen shirts and are routinely in need of IV fluids after the game, are not able to do something to remediate their cramping ??? What rocket scientist came up with this one ???

“I PLAYED REAL GOOD ...”

You’ve heard this plenty but it most often happens when a golfer finds a microphone shoved in his face and is asked how he played that particular day ... and he retorts “I PLAYED REAL GOOD” ... WRONG !!! The proper terminology is “I PLAYED WELL” or “I PLAYED VERY WELL” ... the fact that he played is “real” but is not an intensifier to describe how well or poorly he played !!!

“HONESTLY ... ”

Why do Commentators think they have to add this word ??? By doing so, the connotation is that everything else he/she has said has been less than honest, or maybe a confabulation !!!

“FAIRWAY METAL”

OK, the blame lays firmly @ the feet of now-retired Kenny Venturi, who I called the “master of the obvious” !!! Why is it so important to call a Fair-Way Wood a “FAIRWAY METAL” ... Irons are not made solely of iron, and Drivers are made of a whole array of materials, but we don’t call Irons by another name, nor Drivers by another name ... It’s simply ridiculous ... and unnecessary !!!

“__________ OF THE BALL”

So if a golfer is a good ball striker why not say that ... instead of “STRIKER OF THE BALL” ... or if he/she is a good putter why not say that instead of “PUTTER OF THE BALL” ??? It’s simply wrong to grope for a new way of saying something when the simple way is still the best !!! Remember the first rule of public speaking my friends, “KISS” - Keep it Simple, Stupid !!!

Greg Norman ... Gone Again, Naturally !!!

Bermuda Bob — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 21:42:11 -0400

Is there anyone else out that that shares my relief that Greg Norman missed the cut and we don't have to deal with him ... hopefully for a long, long time ... @ the Masters ???

Sorry if this sounds jaded, but of all the personalities @ Augusta this week, did you notice that he does not generate the same fan appeal and affection as just about anyone else ???

It was a valiant try for him to try one more time, but I, for one, would be eternally grateful to him (and Chrissie) is he simply went back to what he does best ... and it just ain't playin' golf any more !!!

I'm happy that he made another try after becoming the biggest, most pronounced, and most painful to "choke" ever ... and @ least, thankfully he did so to a graceful gentleman like Nick Faldo !!!

So my ardent plea is that Greg, you go back to your design business and, of course, those wonderful restaurants (they really are !!!) and quit trying to revive a career that is "past it" ...

Thank you, in advance, Greg !!!

A Constructive Look at What's Wrong with College Basketball...

Bermuda Bob — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:32:46 -0400

Many sports use their Championship Weekend to outline a “State of the Game” as I snapshot in time. I’d like to use this opportunity to examine what I believe is the single most damaging influence on college basketball today—the “One-and-Done” recruit...

The High School player who has no intention of completing a normal four-year matriculation but rather using the school as a stepping stone to the NBA !!!

The present state of affairs if due to the pseudo-brilliance of David Stern who felt his league could be inundated by High Schoolers who all thought they were the next Kobe, Garnett, or LeBron...players we all regard as the exception rather than the rule!!!

So they instituted the age/graduating class rule which has only complicated things for both the High Schoolers and the colleges...

We have already seen the likes of Greg Oden, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, DJ Augustine, OJ Mayo, and the list continues into those leaving early this year!!!

My opinion is that this is a pox on college basketball and one which will resist the vaccination of the NCAA as long as there are coaches who purposely recruit these players without regard for the fact that college athletics is suppose to have a two-fold mission: To educate the player as well as give him a positive experience of moral, ethical, and sportsmanlike competition !!!

To disregard one for the other is a denial of the mission of the university as well as the NCAA charter and student-athlete oath !!! It also reduces those colleges which embrace the “One-and-Done” kids to a wet-nurse for the NBA ...

Now I’m fully aware that athletics are a major revenue stream for universities but I have to ask ... At what cost??? Which brings to mind the words of the Apostle Matthew what he wrote: "For what profited a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul???"

The mission statement of any university is to educate their student, first, last, and always...but to purposely bring in recruits with the understanding that he is there to simply play his heart out for one year so as to propel him into a higher draft pick is wrong from start to finish and needs to be corrected before it evolves into some much worse than it is already!!!

One of the reason prime athletes state for leaving early is that they could conceivably be injured to the point where they lose the earning ability they might have had be leaving school early...certainly a valid consideration since basketball, both college and professional has become more and more a “contact” sport where injuries are expected and an injury free year a very “lucky” thing!!!

So how do we find a meeting of the needs of the student and the athlete??? I believe I have a viable alternative...an insurance policy!!!

What if the NCAA refused to allow “One-and-Done” players and the universities were able to purchase an insurance policy to cover the, now, student-athlete’s earning power...after all, there is a benchmark for this in the NBA collective bargaining agreement!!!

This way, the school get the services of the athlete until he graduates...and I use the example of Jay (then Jason) Williams of Duke, who completed his matriculation in three years with a significant course of study and a degree!!!

The school would have no profit from the policy but foot the premiums to have the services of the student-athlete for the period of full matriculation!!!

In the event, the student-athlete got injured and risked his career it would be up to the insurance company to make the determination and thus the student-athlete no longer risks future wages by staying in school and getting an education !!!

There is a precedent for this, in case you were wondering...if you recall the “Special Master” who was charged with settling claims for the families of those lost in the 9-11 attack, he/they established what each person’s earning potential ad abilities were and a settlement was made...

My proposal is certainly a less maudlin set of circumstances, but it preserves the mission of universities, considers the concerns of the student-athlete, eliminates the “One-and-Done” recruit (and those unscrupulous coaches who practice such recruitment) and perpetuates the purity of the game we all love !!!

So what about it, NCAA...what do you think???

Duke's Sweet 16 ... and Yes, The Elite 8 !!!

Bermuda Bob — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:22:45 -0400

There are two distinctive aspects to my view of the Big Dance, each and every year, so, each and every year I always have Duke in my Pool, and each and every year I temper my expectations with the realism of the competition ... just like many long time Duke fans I have experienced the highs and endured the lows of past programs ... This year is just a bit different ... here’s how:

For better or worse, this year’s Big Dance is full of chalk ... and that’s not bad because it has been totally entertaining thus far, but that same chalk offers us a Sweet 16 into the Regionals with plenty of hope for many based on good and disappointing performances ... the good gives us hope that the disappointing performances can turn into opportunity to advance !!!

Duke, I believe, did what they had to do to advance against Texas and gave Coach K the opportunity to use this week to plot more than a few different scenarios to handle who, I think, may very well be the most dangerous team in the whole Field of 64 to Duke’s style of play !!!

‘Nova was indeed impressive in their total annihilation of UCLA, but I offer that they HAD to have such a performance after their scare in the first round against VCU ...

Don’t get me wrong ... ‘Nova is serious and dangerous competition ... so much so that I have already stated publicly that Duke MUST have a shooting and almost turnover-free game like they did to win the ACC Tournament against Florida State !!!

All this said, I go back to my original premise, only this year I really don’t think I need to temper my expectations ... even if they take until the last precious seconds of the game late into the evening on Thursday !!! I am expecting Duke to prevail !!!

I then fully expect that Duke will have no problem handling Pitt just like “Nova did ... then on to MoTown !!!

What If a Team Who Should Not Have Made the Tournament Wins in the First Round?

Bermuda Bob — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:54:02 -0400

OK, here's my question...however rhetorical it may seem...

Does a program who really, truthfully, and honestly DID NOT deserve to get into the Big Dance, and then wins in the first round, redeem itself?

I honestly think not.

Now, I'm not talking about Mid-Majors, or teams who won their conference tournaments to get it...those are the rules and the rules have to be adhered to...what I'm talking about are the teams that get that "At-Large" bid from a benevolent Selection Committee irregardless of if we like it or not.

I'm thinking of Arizona, Michigan, and (even though I love Bo) Wisconsin.

So what say you?

A Dukie's View of the First Two Rounds

Bermuda Bob — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:28:18 -0400

As a long time Duke fan I’m looking @ the Blue Devil’s chances this year as the No. 2 Seed in the East and offer the following thoughts...

Round No. 1: There actually HAVE been No. 2 seeds knocked off by No. 15 Seeds but I don’t see it happening here...the Binghampton BearsCats, in their first appearance in the Big Dance are surely the real deal.

They have quality wins within their conference and even knocked off Rutgers, Vermont, and Tulane out of conference, and their leading scorer led their league with 20 ppg., however they are a relatively weak rebounding team—something Duke is not known for either!

I believe that the BearCats will do themselves proud and worthy of Tony Kornheiser’s jersey-popping endorsement as they went into their conference tournament finals, but alas they will come up rather short against the peaking Blue Devils, who are coming off one of their best and consistent scoring efforts, as well as incredibly low turnover total this season.

The Blue Devils advance onto the next round to meet either Texas or Minnesota!

Round No. 2: In the next round it’s hard to say who to will prevail here, so let’s take a look at Duke versus either, or both of them.

TEXAS endured a lackluster season by past season’s comparisons but they showed glimmers of glamour when they beat Oklahoma, but on that day they did not have Blake Griffin to deal with.

The Longhorns do not possess the offensive prowess of last years team and is no threat to make many Trifectas and they don’t sport much of a low post threat, so the Dukies will be in their element.

The most interesting win for them this year was against ‘Nova, who I believe would be a formidable foe for the Blue Devils. So, I am more concerned about ‘Nova after Duke handles the LongHorns. That is, of course, if they get past Minnesota.

MINNESOTA: I was happy when Tubby Smith landed in a program he could mold in his own style and he has done so with the Golden Gophers.

This team sports little veterans but has embraced Tubby’s swarming pressurized defense and can only become better, led by their Big 10 All-Defensive forward, who should prove to be an intimidating presence to any effort by Duke to drive the basket, but there’s where the Blue Devil Trifecta game comes in so handy.

I think that if Minnesota handles Texas, they may very well present a formidable foe to make Duke earn yet another Sweet 16 berth and onto Boston—and earn it they most certainly will!