The Head & Shoulders Curse

Everybody has heard of the Madden Curse right? Well in case you haven’t, it’s when the player on the cover of Madden football has gone on to suffer some form of injury or have the worst statistical year of their career. Anyway, when I was an intern at 105.3The Fan in Dallas I came up with something called the Head & Shoulders Curse. I came up with idea when I first saw the ridiculous shampoo commercial starring C.J. Wilson and Josh Hamilton of the Los Angeles Angels. I started thinking of previous sports stars who have starred in these great commercials and then gone on to have sup-par years.

 

Troy Polamalu, Safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers who first appeared in a Head &Shoulders commercial prior to the 2009 NFL season. That season he only appeared in 5 of 16 possible games, having career lows in every statistical category.

Joe Mauer, Catcher of the Minnesota Twins joined the Head & Shoulders team in 2011. Mauer underwent Arthroscopic Knee surgery and battled Pneumonia post surgery limiting him to 82 of 162 games. Another player joins Head &Shoulders and has the worst year of their career.

Olympic Swimmer Michael Phelps joined prior to the 2012 Olympics in London. Phelps placed fourth behind fellow American Ryan Lochte, Thiago Pereira of Brazil, and Kosuke Hagino of Japan in the 400-meter individual medley. It was the first time Phelps failed to medal in an Olympic event since 2000. His 4 gold medals was his lowest gold medal total at any Olympics or World Championships.

Josh Hamilton, Oufielder of the Los Angeles Angels left Texas for the glamour and glitz of LA, and soon after landed his first commercial sponsorship with Head & Shoulders. After signing a 5-year $125 million contract, the Head & Shoulders curse is reeking having on Hambone. Hamilton has hitting career lows for Batting Average (.223), Slugging Percentage (.409), and On Base Percentage (.278). He also has a League Leading eight(8) errors in the outfield. Angels fans think he stinks, but at least Katie likes the way he smells.

I’m sure this all sounds crazy. Curses, who believes in curses? Surely no one in Chicago or Boston. Maybe it’s just all coincidence; I just thought you should know about it. Until next time...

Geoff

@geoffrey_craig

The Biogenesis Scandal

Hello baseball fans, We are just three days removed from the season-ending suspension of Brewers Outfielder Ryan Braun due to his connection to the Biogenesis Clinic. Now everyone is focused on Yankees Third Baseman Alex Rodriguez and what some media outlets have reported will be a 150-game suspension. With more than 20 current major leaguers including the aforementioned Braun and Rodriguez involved in this latest scandal, what should be done in regards to the testing. Both Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon were suspended 50 games last year for a failed test and appear on the Biogenesis Report. Are the penalties not strong enough? I believe they are not.

The benefits of using steroids and HGH still outweigh the consequences. Here are three prominent examples:

Melky Cabrera was a first time All-Star last year while playing for the San Francisco Giants. Cabrera had a single and a two-run home run in the National League’s 8-0 win. He was named MVP of the game and led the NL to having Home-Field Advantage in the World Series, which the San Francisco Giants went on to win. Despite being on the restricted list during the playoffs, Cabrera still received a World Series ring for his previous contributions to the ball club.

Bartolo Colon is a Starting Pitcher for the Oakland Athletics.  Colon was suspended August 22, 2012, for 50 games by MLB after testing positive for synthetic. Although he was suspended late in the year, the Athletics still were able to catch the Texas Rangers in the division and earn a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Ryan Braun is an Outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. Other than Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun is the most recognizable name connected to the Biogenesis Clinic. Braun was an All-Star, Silver Slugger, and was the National League MVP for the 2011 season. He came under scrutiny on December 10, 2011 when a confidential urine test result was leaked to ESPN’s Outside the Lines. The test would result in a 50-game suspension, but Braun appealed the result. Braun’s lawyers argued that the sample was not handled properly. The sample was collected on Saturday, but the collector said there was no FedEx open to drop the sample off so he stored the samples until Monday and then mailed them off. Although there was no evidence of tampering, MLB's drug-testing program states that the samples should be sent to the laboratory on the same day they are collected "absent unusual circumstance." On July 22, 2013, MLB suspended Braun for the remainder of the 2013 season (65 games and the postseason) for his involvement with the Biogenesis clinic.

Not only did the players still benefit from cheating, but so did their teams. Without Colon, the A’s probably don’t win the AL West by 1 game. The San Francisco Giants don’t get Home-Field Advantage in the World Series without Cabrera’s heroics in the All-Star Game. There is no current way for MLB to punish the teams of cheaters. Here are some of my ideas of how baseball can start to clean up the game:

Post-Season bans for the teams of offenders would discourage cheating more than just suspensions for players. 

50-game suspension for first time offenders changed to season long(162 games) without pay. 

100-game suspension for second offense becomes a lifetime ban.

Just because it’s baseball doesn’t mean it has to have 3-strike rule.

Lets just wait and see what MLB does with all the players involved in the Biogenesis case. Bud Selig doesn't seem too happy about it.

Until next time...

Geoff

@geoffrey_craig

How Ed O'Bannon killed NCAA Football

Thanks, Ed. Now NCAA Football 14 may be the last college football video game any of us can enjoy.

Yesterday The NCAA pulled the plug on their relationship with EA Sports. The NCAA released the following statement:

    The NCAA has made the decision not to enter a new contract for the license of its name and logo for the EA Sports NCAA Football video game. The current contract expires in June 2014, but our timing is based on the need to provide EA notice for future planning. As a result, the NCAA Football 2014 video game will be the last to include the NCAA’s name and logo. We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA.

    The NCAA has never licensed the use of current student-athlete names, images or likenesses to EA. The NCAA has no involvement in licenses between EA and former student-athletes. Member colleges and universities license their own trademarks and other intellectual property for the video game. They will have to independently decide whether to continue those business arrangements in the future.

The NCAA made its decision amid continued litigation with former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon, who’s filed an antitrust lawsuit in hopes current student-athletes can see a share of the revenue generated by their abilities. The former UCLA basketball star didn't understand why he wasn't being paid when the NCAA and EA Sports used his likeness in video games after he was no longer an NCAA student-athlete. In NCAA Basketball 09, there is a character “PF-31” that is similar to the 6-foot-8 O’Bannon — the player shoots left-handed, plays power forward and has O'Bannon's jersey -- No. 31.

The problem is that when you play an NCAA sport, you have to sign a waiver that relinquishes your right to make money off your likeness as an NCAA athlete (Jerseys, Programs, Books, etc.) The NCAA let EA Sports use those players' likenesses in video games, like the NCAA Football and NCAA March Madness franchises. Ed O’Bannon signed the waiver while he was a current student-athlete. He is arguing that by having a character that so much resembles himself, he and other former athletes should be entitled to some type of compensation. A trial is tentatively scheduled for 2014. A judge recently ruled that current NCAA athletes could also be listed as plaintiffs in the suit.

This seems like it will be the end of the line for EA Sports and College Football. But wait, just hours after the statement from the NCAA, Andrew Wilson, Executive Vice President of EA SPORTS released a statement regarding the future of the Football franchise:

By now, most fans will have heard that EA's licensing agreement with the NCAA is set to expire and that we have agreed to part ways.  I'm sure gamers are wondering what this means.

This is simple:  EA SPORTS will continue to develop and publish college football games, but we will no longer include the NCAA names and marks.  Our relationship with the Collegiate Licensing Company is strong and we are already working on a new game for next generation consoles which will launch next year and feature the college teams, conferences and all the innovation fans expect from EA SPORTS.

We took big creative strides with this year's college game and you’ll see much more in the future.  We love college football and look forward to making more games for our fans.

Only time will tell what happens next. In the meantime, head over to your EA Sports Locker and download your favorite Team Builder schools and rosters and get prepared to play NCAA Football 14 for the next few years unless you loved Bill Walsh Football, EA’s first attempt at a College Football game, and its extensive list of college football powerhouses:

Alabama	Nebraska
Arizona	Provo (BYU)
Boston (Boston College)	Pullman (Wash. St.)
College Station (Texas A&M)	Raleigh (NC State)
Colorado	S.C. (USC)
Columbus (Ohio State)	South Bend (Notre Dame)
Florida	Stanford
Georgia	State College (Penn State)
Hawaii	Syracuse
Kansas	Tallahassee (Florida State)
Miami	Tennessee
Michigan	Washington

Ed should be happy that EA Sports used his likeness (allegedly) in any of its games.

His stellar NBA career didn’t warrant him being included in anything. If Ed O’Bannon wins this lawsuit, it could change the landscape of not just video games, but all NCAA sports and how players are compensated. Current Student-Athletes could end up getting a percentage of jersey sales, but that's a bridge we will cross when we get there.

Until next time...

Geoff

@Geoffrey_Craig

This Time It Counts: MLB All-Star Game Edition

The 2002 All-Star Game, held in Milwaukee, ended in controversy in the 11th inning when both teams ran out of available pitchers. Commissioner Bud Selig declared that the game would end after 11 innings, and it ended in a 7-7 tie. Because of this, the All-Star Game as we know it changed. To provide additional incentive for victory, Major League Baseball reached an agreement with the players union to award home-field advantage for the World Series to the champion of the league that won the All-Star Game. 

Contrary to the popular belief that the team with the best record had home-field advantage, home-field advantage in the World Series alternated between the two leagues each year.

The American League took advantage of the new rule in each of its first seven years: between 2003 and 2009. Even with the home-field advantage, The American League only won four series and the National League won three. 

On April 28, 2010, MLB announced several rules changes for future all-star games, effective with the 2010 edition:

• Rosters were expanded by one extra position player, to a total of 34.
• The designated hitter will be used in all games, even in National League ballparks.
• Pitchers who start on the Sunday before the game break will be replaced on the roster, but will still be recognized as All-Stars.
• Each manager may designate a position player who will be eligible for game re-entry if the last position player is injured or ejected. This is in addition to a rule that allows a player to re-enter to replace an injured or ejected catcher.

Since these changes in 2010, The National League champion has benefited, winning the last three World Series (SF in ’10 & ’12), (Stl in ’11).

Does the All-Star game even have the best players anymore? The American League had Clay Buchholtz (Bos), Yu Darvish (Tex), and Jesse Crain (Chi) who were replaced by Matt Moore (TB), Glen Perkins (Min), and Bartolo Colon (Oak). Colon was then replaced by teammate Grant Balfour. Justin Verlander (Det) and Hisashi Iwakuma (Sea), who both pitched Sunday, were replaced by Chris Tillman (Bal) and Greg Holland (KC).  Don’t get me wrong, all of these replacements are good players, but The American League All-Star Team is without two of the best pitchers in baseball in Verlander and Darvish. That would be like the NBA replacing LeBron and Kobe with Luol Deng and O.J.Mayo. 

The National League hasn’t had the same problems with injuries, losing only three players. Freddie Freeman (Atl), the Final Vote winner, was replaced by teammate Brian McCann. Mark Melancon (Pit) replaced teammate Jeff Locke, and Sergio Romo (SF) replaced Jordan Zimmerman (Was). Edward Mujica (Stl) replaces teammate Adam Wainwright, who pitched on Sunday. The National League replaced three starters with three relievers, all first time All-Stars.

And what’s the deal with teammates being replacements? I thought this was about winning home-field advantage. Since Freddie Freeman won the final vote and can’t play, shouldn’t Yasiel Puig, who finished second, get his spot over Brian McCann?

It’s worth noting that there are a record 39 first-time All-Stars following the additions of Melancon (Pit), Romo (SF), Tillman (Bal), Holland (KC), Balfour(Oak) and Mujica (Stl), that’s four more than the previous mark set two years ago in Arizona.

Maybe I’m a little biased since my team (Tex) lost The World Series two years in row, but since home-field advantage is on the line I think the All-Star Game should have the best players playing, not sitting. If it’s supposed to mean something this important the fans shouldn’t be allowed to vote in the starters. The entire process should be left to the Managers and Players, they ultimately benefit from this. Matbe we can get another tie this year and Bud Selig can make the Celebrity Softball game be the tie-breaker going forward.

Until next time…

Geoff

@geoffrey_craig