Famed Scottish songstress Annie Lennox once had a beautiful song titled “Why?” Simple and to the point. Annie wasn’t in the mood for any foolishness and didn’t care who knew it.
When it comes to the sports world, we should all take the hint.
Why do we insist on having a new Top 10 quarterback list in the NFL every week? It’s as if a guy misses an out route on third-and-three, he’s immediately demoted to a spot normally reserved for whoever is playing quarterback for the New York Jets. Is Dak Prescott a Top 10? Is he not a Top 10? Tune in next week!
Why do we have to decide whether the Los Angeles Dodgers are the greatest team in baseball history before they even make it to the World Series? They appear to be really, really good. You know who else was really, really good? The 1990 Oakland A’s, who were the defending champions and won 103 games. And then promptly got swept in four games by the Cincinnati Reds, no one’s idea of the ’27 Yankees.
Why do we pay so much attention to recruiting rankings, particularly in football? Think about it – coaches will eventually get fired because the concept that they have not achieved as much as they should because of the perceived talent level on the team. Who says so? Some talent evaluator looking at some grainy film or holding a stopwatch at a summer camp? There are waaaaaay too many examples of players who never were all that good but had a bunch of stars by their name for how they performed in a three-cone drill. Those guys get coaches fired.
Why are there so many more lighting delays in football games that there used to be? Doesn’t it seem like trying to fit 80,000 people onto a narrow concourse isn’t a great idea either? Isn’t there a better chance of getting trampled than getting hit by lighting when the bad weather is 15 miles away?
Why on earth are we so consumed with projecting the College Football Playoff teams one month into the season? First of all, a monkey could make these projections, based on the rankings. Gotta love that “if the season ended today” tag line they throw out there. Well you know what? It doesn’t end today. Or next week. Or the week after that. And it’s as if they think there will be no upsets for the entire rest of the season.
Why does the NFL continue to give other professional sports the one-finger salute? Answer: Because they can. NBA thinks it owns Christmas Day? Hold my beer, says Roger Goodell. Here’s three games – all featuring high-profile teams – to stuff in your stocking. Baseball playoffs going on? How about a Monday night NFL doubleheader, just for good measure. They’ve already made the PGA run home to its mother and forced a change in the golf calendar that no one thinks is a good idea.
Why do we allow ourselves to be stat-hammered to death? If a team is down 28 in the fourth quarter, it’s pretty obvious that there’s a 99 percent chance they are going to lose. No need to flash that on the screen. Baseball just keeps throwing letters together to make up new stats (wOBA, FIP, DRS). Freddie Freeman can hit. Paul Skenes can pitch. That’s all I need to know.
As Annie sang in that masterpiece of a song “Some things are better left unsaid.”
Let that be a lesson to us all.
Contact JJ at johnjamesmarshall@yahoo.com