PAGE 14, THE BEHREND BEACON, DECEMBER 3,1999
NATIONAL SPORTS
Sports rage:
I)) Thomas Boswell
The Washington Post
Why are so many of us so angry . ' In these boom times,
why is our affluent culture turning v iolent and venomously
antisocial at the very sports events \‘ e are presumably
attending to have tun? Once, we went to games to let off
steam. Now, we get steamed.
In you're playing right field for the I louston Astros in
sedate middle-America Milwaukee. you better he careful.
A fan may run out of the stands and punch you in the face.
If you're at a Colorado-Colorado State football game.
bring your gas mask; in September, tear gas was used to
quell a fan disturbance. A D.C. United patron came to
RFK Stadium to watch soccer; he ended up in the hospital
with stab wounds.
Is it possible we've gotten so intoxicated NA it h winning
in the '9os that all other reasons for playing games, or
attending them, have shrunk to insignificance? How could
"fun" be sufficient? No way. Not unless there's a chance
to make a quick killing in a "ftm.com" IPO. In a culture
that, every year, seems to define itself more in terms of
raw competition, we are tempted, unconsciously, to reduce
issues to, "I'm a winner. You're a loser."
In this week's installment of our sad saga, two Oakland
Raiders players got in a snowball and ice-chunk throwing
battle with Broncos fans in Denver. Three fans spent the
night in jail. One Raider allegedly hit a female fan in the
face with a snowball while another was accused of
punching a fan. Oakland defensive hack Charles Woodson
faces a misdemeanor assault charge. Mavhe he just doesn't
know the rules: you can't chuck a fan more than five rows
into the stands.
The Raiders' Tim Brown called the melee "the ugliest
scene I have ever seen. - These days, that's quite a
distinction. A little less than three weeks ago, l 0 fans were
arrested and 20 ejected at a Vikings game on a Monday
night in Minneapolis. On any given Sunday, you never
know what you'll see in the NFL Sometimes fans
apparently ask the New Orleans Saints' coach. "Mike.
Majority of umps vote
to dump Richie Phillips
for new union
by Sam Donnenon
December t) I. I 999
Knight-Ridder NCV, spapers
It should have ended with more flair
NEW YORK
more fire, more fight
Richie Phillips's 2 I -year tenure as the umpires union
boss should have ended like that final scene in "A Few
Good Men,'' with Richie screaming, "You're messing with
the wrong litigator!'' as he tried to break all restraints and
rip the throats out of the umpires that led the revolt against
him.
Instead, it ended quietly and dully in a conference room
on the 36th floor of the Jacob Jay its Federal Building in
lower Manhattan. without Phillips even present. Phillips
was in New York. but was tied up in other business, his
associate, Pat Campbell, said w ryly.
"Richie's focus is all about getting 22 umpires their jobs
back," Campbell said. So it ended, w ith Campbell and
Major League Umpires Association president Jerry
Crawford on one side of a table and John Hirschbeck and
his attorney, Joel Smith, representing the new union on
the other. It ended with Craw ford's hand-propped head
dropping. inch by inch, as Steve Appell. an attorney with
the National Labor Relations Hoard, and an assistant te
diously and torturously opened each envelope, deposited
them in a cardboard box, then tediously and torturously
counted each one.
When he was done, 57 of 93 umpires casting votes chose
a new union, with this working title: the Major League
Umpires Independent Organizing Committee. That was
the same number of votes cast in favor of resignation last
July, a Phillips-advised strategy that triggered the series
of events that culminated with Tuesday's vote.
Thirty-five umpires voted to retain the existing union, the
Major League Umpires Association, headed by Phillips
and his law firm.
"I'm shocked," Campbell said. "I figured it would be
close. But I figured in the end, people would realize the
gains they made through the Major League Umpires As
sociation and that they would be very reluctant, in a fair
election, to give that up."
When Phillips took over in 1978, rookie umpires earned
$17,500 and the most senior veterans made $40,000. This
year, salaries ranged from $95,000 to $282,500, includ
ing postseason bonuses they all receive.
But along the way, dissidents charged, Phillips became
a dictator, forcing his strategy upon them. There was also
distrust about the union treasury
"The major thing we wanted was an organization that was
really run like a democracy," said Hirschheck, who spear
headed the effort to force this vote. "An organization where
we had a true accountability of funds, where every mem
ber had the same voice in the union, where every member
was as important as the next. Truly a union that was run
by umpires, with lawyers as advisers and consultants."
Asked if accountability of funds was a problem within
the old union, Hirschheck responded, "It was very dificult
to obtain that information."
One ballot was voided because it was signed, which
Campbell later objected to. Campbell also indicated an
appeal of the process was likely.
The MLUA has seven days to do so, according to NLRB
Director Dan Silverman. If the appeal has merit, Silverman
will schedule a hearing. Otherwise, it will be dismissed.
WEEK IN SPORTS
what's your IQ?" Obligingly, Mike Ditka answers with
one finger.
Football's not alone. At Fenway Park last month, fans
in the bleachers in front of me began throwing anything
they could get their hands on at the New York Yankees
and the umpires. They weren't just mad about bad calls.
Worse, they were furious about being perceived around
the country as "losers" those comic Red Sox fans, stuck
for generations with their dopey Curse.
As play in the AL Championship Series game was
suspended, the rain of garbage and curses increased. Many
joined the mini-riot, as though it were just part of the show
and came with the pricey ticket. What, you mean Yanks
vs. Red Sox isn't the WWF? For the most part, the
hundreds of people who acted berserk were middle-class
white males ranging in age from their late teens to their
30s. In other words, typical American fans.
Throughout the postseason, you could hear that same
ultimate insult: "You're a loser." Usually with an extra
adjective added. In one shoulder-to-shoulder line at Turner
Field in Atlanta, barbs started flying between Braves and
Yankees fans. It started as bravado but quickly got crazy.
Nobody would back down. The space was cramped. One
huge guy, half-drunk, stood inches from me, trying to start
the Civil War all over again. He didn't just want to start a
fight. He wanted to be the fight. The Yankees fans
retreated.
Whatever level of raw rage you think is circulating in
our sports arenas, I promise you, it's higher. By contrast,
the fuss at the Ryder Cup, where I walked in the galleries,
doesn't even register on the fury meter.
To some, it's a paradox that in the best of economic times
we exhibit the worst behavior. Maybe it's actually the
opposite. Hard times, catastrophes and illness have usually
brought out the most unselfish impulses in people. When
we are flush with security or success, we often isolate
ourselves from the needs of others. We're too big to fail
or need anyone else. Greek tragedy said: "Those whom
the gods would destroy, they first make great "
In spy
orts and out, we've seldom been more obsessed
Campbell declined to specify the basis of the appeal. "1
just don't think the whole process was fair," Crawford
said.
The process began July 14 when 57 of the 68 union
members at a meeting in Philadelphia's Airport Marriott
agreed to tender resignations as a ploy to get major league
owners to negotiate a new contract. Instead, owners took
steps to replace them, and many umpires rescinded their
resignations. Phillips was critical of those umpires and
many umpires were critical of Phillips's disastrous strat
egy. Ultimately the leagues hired 25 new umpires, and
allowed only some resignations to be rescinded.
Twenty-two umpires who had resigned were let go. A
summer's worth of accusations and acrimony ensued,
which ripped apart a union once renowned for its solidar
ity.
Those let go also tiled a grievance that essentially ar
gued that their resignations should not have been taken
seriously. Late last week, arbitrator Alan Symonette ruled
such a grievance merited a hearing, which he scheduled
for Dec. 13 in Philadelphia.
Phillips's firm will still handle that grievance, Ron
Shapiro, an adviser to the new union, said Tuesday. Shapiro
also said he would not head the new union, and would
serve as its adviser for only a little while longer.
"Ron has from the beginning has never accepted pay,
and he will be with us as long as we need to get on our
feet," Hirschbeck said. "I think that time is close."
Shapiro said: "The union is going to have tremendous law
yers . . . They are going to have a crackerjack legal staff.
It's just that the legal staff is not going to tell them what to
do. They are going to carry out their wishes."
One wish will be to forge a better working relationship
with Major League Baseball, Hirschbeck said. "We'd like
to try to operate through negotiation not litigation," he
said.
"Umpires are portrayed as being confrontational and
antagonistic. Sometimes on the field, it's part of the job,
you have to take charge of things. But as far as our rela
tionship with baseball, we want to try and negotiate. We
want to try and build bridges with baseball. "Baseball has
changed a lot in the last 10 years and we as major league
umpires want to be part of that change."
At least 57 do. But as much as this was a referendum
on Phillips, it was a clear barometer the umpires have never
been more disharmonious. Also, Crawford and five other
umpires are suing Hirschbeck and three other umpires for
defamation of character.
"We hope that now this process is over," said veteran
umpire Joe Brinkman, who will serve on the new union's
14-member board. "We were all brothers before as um
pires and like family. And we hope we can all come back
together and like family work together as one."
One avenue toward that, said Brinkman, is to work in
unison with the outgoing union to get the 22 umpires their
jobs back.
"As time goes by and the other umpires see our con
cern for the 22 umpires, I think it's very realistic to think
we can mend this," he said. "We have said to people all
along. We genuinely care about those 22 people and we
are going to do everything in our power to help them."
Hirschbeck, standing nearby, was then asked what he
would say to Phillips had he been there. "I would just say
it's time for us to move on," he said. "Thank you for what
you have done for us
we're all the loser
with winning
than we are right
now. I catch
myself all the
time. "Does
Anybody Want
To Be A
Millionaire'?"
You bet. Even
utility infielders
are filthy rich.
Why not me'? If
you're not a
winner, you're a
loser, right? A
champ or a
chump. So, why
not run up the
score, win by 70,
to gain a spot in
the college
football rankings.
American sport
always has been
Sgt. Scott O'Dell of the Tompkins County Sheriff's Depa.... _
fan after Cortland's victory in the Cortaca Jug game on November 19. Numerous fights
erupted among students from both schools.
of two minds
about what it
values. On one
hand, pro sports is pure capitalist competition. Survival
of the fittest. To the victor go the spoils.
On the other, there's usually an awkward recognition,
even by famous athletes, that much of life is a mystery to
them. They've deliberately narrowed themselves to
become great. It's their choice. We now seem to have
people who choose a comparable narrowness for the sake
of being more fanatical fans.
Of all our words to live by, few have proved shallower,
or less sustaining in hard times, than, "Just win, baby."
Every religious leader or philosopher for 2.000 years has
managed to get past "I win, therefore I am." Yet that's
where some of us are stuck now. If you climb the
With that BCS
winning margin makes all
the difference
by Andrew Bagnato
Chicago Tribune
November 29, 1999
CHICAGO Sorry, Vince Lombardi. It turns out that
winning isn't everything. Winning big is everything.
At least that's what Virginia Tech and Nebraska are
thinking as they chase a Sugar Bowl date with Florida
State. Because seven of the eight computer rankings em
ployed by the Bowl Championship Series take victory
margin into consideration, the Hokies and Huskers have
to make sure they win by the right score.
Forget about sportsmanship. Forget about ethics
Gentlemen, start your modems.
"When it's gotten to how much you can beat a team,
we're getting away from what college football should be
about," Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. "We talk
about taunting and respecting an opponent, then every
body is talking about how bad can you beat somebody?"
Beamer made that comment after whacking Temple
62-7 a week ago.
Temple coach Bobby
Wallace had no complaint with
the rough treatment. "They've
got to worry about these com
puter formulas," he said. "I do
know that beating somebody
bad is better than just barely
getting by."
Who says so? The comput
ers say so.
In'the final eollege football
season of the 1900 s, printouts
have become more important
than pitchouts.
Oh, the irony. Five years ago
when Nebraska and Penn State
dueled for No. I , many observers decried the human bias
of the coaches and media polls after both named Nebraska
No. 1. Computers were supposed to , be the answer
But now that they've been added to the mix, they've
only become a question.
While it's true that the coaches and media who voted
in the old system were influenced by scoring margins,
many were wise enough to discount routs over weak
ling& The trouble with computers is that no one knows
how much the scores count. Is it better to beat a good
team by a point or to sock Temple 62.7?
In Nebraska's cave, it was better not to play at all. The
idle Cornhuskers edged closer to the victorious Hokies
in the BCS standings.
BCS boss Roy Kramer insisted that "scoring differen
tial becomes so minimal that when you pass 17 to 19
it
poi nts,becomes i nfinites imal. There was so much fuss
made over . Virginia Tech boating Syracuse 62-0. But it
would have been the same if they won 21-o. l '
Kramer conceded that there is ai`slight bounce" for a
large victory. "But that's also true in the subjective polls,"
he' said. "I think all of you (voters) are influenced b
scoring differentials. I think it's difficult not to be. But i
the final numbers, when the computer is finished grind
ing nut the numbers, searing differential is less of a fac
tor than most people think it is."
Himalayas to reach the guru at the top, he's not going to
say, "Mets rule, dude. - Or "give my regards to Regis."
How do we live a life that satisfies us, not in the eyes
of others, hut in the privacy of our own hearts'? That
question hasn't gotten any easier over the centuries.
Rooting for the pennant winner, or even finding a way
to get that million. isn't going to help.
Why are so many in our stadiums so angry? Perhaps
we feel entertained, yet undernourished. We've gotten
in the habit of asking the simplest, most childish
question - who won? - and then asking nothing more.
When you lose, and you haven't thought beyond
winning, you can get mighty mad.
computer,
Only one problem: The people who think it matters
are the coaches. And that's why they're rushing to pile
on the points. '4lO
Kramer asks that we take his word on this one. But it
comes down to accountability. The computer program
mers have none. For personal or business reasons, many
won't divulge the secret sauce, not even to Kramer and
the BCS honchos.
Without accountability there can be no credibiliZ 4 This
is why the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll is widelycon
sidered a joke. Votes are secret, sometimes even to.the
voters themselves.
I've voted in the AP media poll for the last six seasons.
The AP releases lists of voters at the beginning and end
of the season, and it will release each pollster's ballot in
the event of a close race for No. I. Many of the voters,
including me, regularly publish their ballots.
In 1994, when I voted Nebraska No. 1 ahead of fellow
unbeaten Penn State, I explained in print. Nittany Lions
fans respond, some of them in En
glish. Three years later, when I voted
Nebraska No. 2 behind fellow un
beaten Michigan, the crayon-scrawled
letters came from
Lincoln
This isn't to say that the AP
poll should be the sole determining
factor, as it was for so many years.
The more input, the better. No one
wants site national'title to be
by a sikrtswriter in a truMb7o4
plaid sixutcoat. (Myself,{pre ee
fee-stained sweaters.) But is it poi
erable to have it decided by a geelc
who has spent his life hitting the "Rage
down" key?
I'm not saying Kenneth
Massey is a geek. But before this fall, when the I,CS
picked up his rating system, Massey was an obseure.
graduate student in math at Virginia Tech. The memiut
he referred to the Hokies as "we" in an interviewihalost
any shred of credibility. I'm guessing Massey'a SOO
saver is a Gobbler just like his rating sysurat.:
The idea that computers are somehow mire 04,4140
than people is ludicrous. Ever try logging on to Agorroa
Online?
Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Foot.
ball Coaches Association, has backed the BCS from**.
start. Teaff favored computer input, but he's uncoaatt
able with the notion that computers are encouraging
coaches to run up the score. Teaff isn't alone. Last Whiter
the AFCA ethics committee met with BCS officials to
express their concerns on the same issue,
"People don't trust the computers," Teaff said the other
day from Waco, Texas. "Last year you had people talk . -;
ing about biased computers. Shouldn't computers lay
pretty much the same thing?"
When BCS officials added five computers to the three
employed a year ago, they admitted that any single= rat.
ing system could have "undue influence."
Unfortunately, the computers still have "undue Infin
ence," Just take a look at the scoreboard.