Q: What’s the difference between right and wrong, good and bad?
A: It depends. If you’re a sports fan, you’re no longer supposed to know or even care.
In a world turned satire-proof, an underplayed story appeared this week, one announcing Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will co-host a seminar for 600 mothers of youth football players, a clinic on in-game safety.
On the surface, that seems a nice, even important thing. And that’s where we’re supposed to leave it — right there on the surface.
But Meyer clearly didn’t give a rat’s rectum about safety when he spent five years inviting and indulging dangerous, criminally inclined players to the campus of the University of Florida, where he coached until 2010.
On Meyer’s watch, at least 30 full scholarship recruits were arrested for crimes that included aggravated stalking, aggravated assault, felony burglary, felony theft, violation of a restraining order following a sexual assault and possession of a concealed, illegally owned firearms.
And though current murder suspect Aaron Hernandez, another Meyer recruit, was not arrested while playing at Florida, it now seems — following reports he punched a bouncer over an unpaid bar bill, destroying the guy’s ear drum — he beat a serious rap.
Meyer recruited to the UF campus a crime wave.
Now, this summer, he will try to impress upon 600 mothers the importance of safety in football.
As for Goodell, he was seen on national TV, just before the start of the latest Super Bowl, sharing a long embrace with Ray Lewis, who once pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in a still unsolved double-homicide, reached a financial settlement with the families of the two dead men and is currently employed by ESPN.
So now Meyer and Goodell have teamed to make personal safety a priority among football players. As for protecting students and the public — the sons and daughters of other mothers — from football players, well, too late for that.
ESPN serves up meaningless tennis stats
Tennis is another game that someone, at some point, figured needs more stats; the score isn’t enough. So he or she invented some. And they were quickly adopted by stat-happy, intrusive TV folks.
Why are “unforced errors” — highlighted by ESPN during Andy Murray’s win over Fernando Verdasco, Wednesday at Wimbledon — significant or even relevant? One can lose a match 0-6, 0-6, 0-6 and not commit one unforced error.
In many cases, unforced errors are a result of trying to hit a “winner.” Winners are another insight-intended stat, yet another that holds dubious and misleading meaning.
The difference between an “unforced error” and a “winner” often is a fraction of an inch, as it relates to hitting or missing the net or boundary lines. Thus, one can commit 50 unforced errors in trying to hit one winner. Still, as long as stats sound and look smart …
* What difference does it make who Rutgers’ AD is? The terms remain the same: Do whatever it takes to win games. Scandals aside, Rutgers continues to have to do what the big-timers do. There’s no TV money in that “University” part.
Last week RU basketball signed a kid from New York whose last stop was at some academy in Virginia. He previously had attended a private school in Jersey and some other high schools before that. His high school stops are numerous and vague.
But RU, which also has signed some JUCO recruits — those who for some reason likely were ineligible to directly attend a four-year school — knows what counts: He’s 6-foot-8 and was shopped around at Nike friends and family preview camps. Sign here, kid, for your all-expenses-paid ride, courtesy of the State of New Jersey.
* When the Pickin’s Good: MLB Network’s live coverage of Giants-Reds — and Homer Bailey’s no-hitter — was not cut-in coverage. It was MLBN’s scheduled game.
* Mets’ Bernie Madoff Bobblehead Day coming. When? You’re not allowed to ask any questions.
* Does it ever appear to you CC Sabathia is pitching from inside one of those canvas roll-around linen bins?
* Reader Gene Klechevsky: “I’m watching “Mets’ Yearbook 1964” during a rain delay. I didn’t know you were allowed to run to first base. Is this true?” A: False. All those old-time flickers made people look as if they were running around.
* An NFL player is pulled over. The cop asks for his license, registration and proof of insurance. The NFL player complies. Well, it could happen.
YES mum on the slo-mo of Cano
The Yankees TV/radio/management cover-up on behalf of minimalist superstar Robinson Cano’s sustained lack of even moderate effort has entered the insulting stage.
Tuesday in Minnesota, the Yankees trailed, 4-3, top of the eighth, when Cano led off with a shot to right center.
Right fielder Chris Parmelee dived to cut the ball off, but missed it, thus the ball rolled to the wall, then had to be chased down by center fielder Clete Thomas, who was running away from the infield, toward the right field line. Once Thomas had the ball, he’d have to stop, turn, set, then throw — from far away.
Unless Cano fell down or blew a tire, there was no good reason to conclude that by the time the live-shot camera returned to him, he’d be standing on third, no slide needed. Furthermore, the Yankees would then have three outs and only one base to tie the score.
Shucks, with 300 feet of throwing from the wall in right-center field, a bad throw or relay and Cano scores, easily.
Yet, when the scene switched to Cano, he had not yet reached second! He was seen, live, slowing down, from jog to walk, a few feet from second.
But on YES, not a word from Ken Singleton or John Flaherty as to why we had just seen Cano not yet reach second. He hit a double; that was their story — their only story — and for us to have wondered why Cano wasn’t at third, obviously, was none of our business.
* New Era, MLB’s licensed cap maker, once claimed it had no idea Yankees caps made in non-team colors and patterns were favored by street gangs. No idea.
Now the Dodgers are wearing new, Crips and Surenos-approved gray and blue, MLB-licensed New Era caps. No idea. The Surenos are big in Southern California. But New Era had no idea.