Not that many noticed, but there it was: the perfect-storm, the collision of Roger Goodell’s please remit, media-compliant, make-it-up-as-he-slithers-along, $70 million per reign.
Sunday, an absolutely miserable day for a football game — let alone one played by two unsteady and depleted rivals — was held in PSL Stadium between the Jets and Giants. Despite the obligatory hype, it was a lot-of-empty-seats game that ticket-holders, in retrospect or even on the way in, valued, as Fox’s Greg Olsen, among other current TV yak boxes, as “a negative gain.”
Yet, Goodell, whose hypocrisy is limitless — see his shameless 180 on gambling — addressing Jets and Giants devotees on WFAN, including those who would vanish from long ticket waiting lists rather than fall prey to a smoke-in-a-bucket sell, claimed what some then knew as total baloney: “PSL’s are good investments.”
If not a lie as per the laws of rental finance, it was an irresponsible and perhaps even actionable claim by the NFL’s Head of State. But, like his laughable claims that he represents the best interests of fans, he’ll stop on a dime for another nickel. And PSLs are huge-ticket loop-holed extortions.
And Sunday’s Jets-Giants, another Giants’ home eyesore, renewed the annual rush among owners of one or both teams’ PSL “renters” to dump tickets for whatever they can beg, a tiny fraction of face-value let alone thousands of dollars in annual, escalating tickets costs. It’s a Goodell-certified suckers’ ritual.
But Goodell long ago learned he can get away with anything, with little mass media resistance or even examination. He can paint large “End Racism” messages in the end zone while annually inviting vulgar, crotch-grabbing, women-degrading, N-word-spewing rappers to “entertain” the nation’s Super Bowl audience.
Yet, he thinks or hopes the fair-minded and civil-headed can’t miss what he’s all about: More money, from shoving more and more games out of weekend afternoon view in favor of pay-more weeknight streaming revenue and additional bait-and switch TV “flex” night games for ticket-holders, further diminishing the “good investment” possibility of PSLs.
PSLs are good investments? Here’s what to do: Call Goodell’s office today, offer to sell yours back for cost, not even a penny’s profit. See how that goes. Heck, if Goodell held a 50-cents-on-the-dollar return sale he’d incite a mad-rush riot.
Smoltz’s blather increases viewers’ exit velocity
At least Fox’s John Smoltz issued his “Stay Away!” warnings early in World Series telecasts, adding to the Rob Manfred TV money brigade having reduced the World Series to the Fallen Classic.
Monday, first inning of Game 3, Smoltz followed an extended preface by addressing Max Scherzer:
“I always talk about pitching in the lane of your fastball. And the lane of your fastball should be where all your breaking balls start. Then the hitter cannot pick up the difference between those pitches on the release point.”
Glad he added “release point.” That was mine. Good night, John. Good night, Fox. Good night, World Series. Postseason TV record for exit velocity!
Wednesday, first inning of Game 5: How Arizona will cool off Corey Seager: “They’re going to bust him inside with cutters.”
Well, until Seager grounded out on the fifth pitch all were thrown toward the outside of the plate. Not a word from Smoltz, who may have wisely reasoned that viewers no longer hear a word he says.
Until Fox’s Daryl “Moose” Johnston reflexively decided to strangle sense out of it Sunday, the play spoke for itself. Late in Browns-Seahawks, a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage was intercepted by Seattle. Take it from there, Moose:
“But again, [Browns QB] P.J. Walker kinda got locked into a pre-snap read, he wanted to go slant. They had double slant on the outside, but he needed to tuck that back down and look for his running back, Jerome Ford, checking down right over the top of the ball.”
Johnston has been doing such to NFL telecasts for 22 years, thus Fox must believe we cherish his presence.
Pro of the Week: Seahawks tight end Noah Fant. With 1:05 left, the Browns up three, Fant caught a pass then ran for a few yards then cut back inside rather than stop the clock by stepping out of bounds.
Then, with the clock still running, he slowly stood making that tired check-me-out, first-down gesture that broadcasters indulge as a matter of illogical, credibility-killing fright to avoid the wrath of fools.
So CBS’ “60 Minutes” twice bit on Deion Sanders’ agent-of-God, savior of poor black kids con, only to blame his well-compensated recruits for Colorado’s past two losses. What a stand-up champ. Guess it’s time he fired his hand-chosen roster or at least switched gods.
Meantime, his have-not recruits this week reported the theft of thousands of dollars in gold and diamond necklaces and other expensive jewelry from the visitors’ locker room “poor box” at the Rose Bowl during a game versus UCLA. Sanders said he “expects” the NCAA or the Rose Bowel to reimburse his players.
Catalon shows less is more
By speaking decipherable football, CBS’ Andrew Catalon had a good day working Jets-Giants. He even gave the yards gained and the new line of scrimmage following a first down, which he declared a “first down” rather than the vaguest, faddish, viewer guesswork-reliant, “They moved the chains.”
Replay reviews continue to make second-guesses out of guesses. Saturday on NBC’s telecast of Wolverhampton-Newcastle, a VAR — video assistant referee replay — upheld a rotten call leading to a successful Newcastle penalty kick in a 2-2 final. In any event, the sentence far surpassed a debatable transgression.
How did our sports survive, let alone thrive, before replay?
Ex-Devils and Islanders goalie Cory Schneider — always a good interview, even after losses — is being fed into the Isles’ studio shows. Good idea.
More proof that networks don’t care what intelligent viewers think of them:
MLB Network graphic prior to Game 2 of the World Series: “Montgomery, Texas. First start since Game 5 of ALCS, plus 2.1 innings of relief (32 pitches) in Game 7.”
ESPN graphic: “Sunday’s loss was the Niners’ first three-game losing streak since 2021.”
Four Diamondbacks relievers threw scoreless half-innings in Game 1 of the World Series. All were then immediately yanked until Arizona’s manager, Torey Lovullo, found two who would be blasted.
Ten-inning, 13-pitcher game lasted 4:02, ending after midnight. Perhaps if managers and GMs were replaced every half-inning, some here-and-now common sense would be restored.
Sunday on CBS, “Next Gen Stats,” afflicting this generation, carried this news:
“New York Jets — Play Cover Four 27.3 Percent of their Drop Backs. Third Highest in NFL.”
What’s barely fit for a shredder we have shoved in our faces as a matter of prepared, share-the-wisdom enlightenment. (And thanks to reader Steve Sachs for the heads-up).
Say, what happened to that media choir on behalf of the Jets signing police magnet Dalvin Cook? Gee, that “Sign him!” chant was loud.