4-2-5 Defense - The Defense of the Future - David Raley (OJW)

We're here.  Here's the clinic video of OJW talking about defenses and why he thinks the 4-2-5 defense is the defense of the future.

UPDATE to include discussion of Bryce Brentz injury; Ryan Sweeney and injuring hand by punching door: is it grounds for Disqualified List?

Bryce Brentz

UPDATE Feb. 9 2013: we're learning today from WEEI.com's Alex Speier that the Red Sox now have another player who has been injured outside of playing the game and in questionable circumstances: about a month ago, prospect Bryce Brentz accidentally injured himself while cleaning a hand gun.  A bullet went into his leg.  

Brentz is lucky.  It doesn't appear the injury will hurt his baseball career.  But if it does for a period of time, it would be interesting to see if Red Sox disqualify him instead of disable him.  My guess is they disable him rather than disqualify him, since this was an accident and not a result of him losing his temper.  For more analysis of these two lists, please read the post below on Ryan Sweeney.

And, yes, Brentz is making his second appearance on Sports Law Blog.  He was  the player we talked about in our post "Bryce Brentz and Teams Requesting that Players Use Medical Devices for Abnormally Good Health"

* * *
ORIGINAL POST ON RYAN SWEENEY


In the eight inning of last night's Red Sox -Tigers game, Red Sox outfielder Ryan Sweeney became upset after grounding out. So angry that after returning to the dugout he let a door feel the brunt of his frustration, which caused a hand injury:

* * *

Ryan Sweeney will need X-rays after he punched a door in the dugout following a groundout in the eighth inning of the Sox' 7-3 win over the Tigers. Sweeney injured the knuckle on his left pinkie and had to come out of the game when he couldn't make his warm-up throws in the top of the ninth inning.
According to a team source, the outfielder -- who is hitting .260 with a .303 OBP and .373 slugging mark in 63 games -- is likely to require a DL stint for the injury.
From: Mike Petragalia, WEEI.com

* * *

Should Sweeney be placed on the disabled list -- or the disqualified list?

The seldom-used disqualified list is for players who, according to the CBA, "fail to render services to his club." While disqualified, a player is not paid his salary and is removed from the roster, though the player can workout with his team and receive healthcare benefits. On behalf of a disqualified player, the Major League Baseball Players' Association can file a grievance to fight the disqualification. The grievance procedure may eventually lead to a hearing before three-arbitrators.

The disqualified list is purposelessly defined in vague terms, since its definition gives teams flexibility in interpreting it. Teams are hesitant to use it, however, because it likely damages the team's relationship with a player. It may also damage the team's relationship with the player's agent, which in some instances may be a big deal.

Because of these downside for teams, few players have been placed on the disqualified list in recent years. Two years ago the Mets placed Francisco Rodriguez on the disqualified list after he injured his hand in a fight with his girlfriend's dad. Last year for SI.com, I wrote about the Cubs placing Carlos Zambrano on the disqualified list for 30 days after he bizarrely walked out on his team and claimed to be retiring. Earlier this month the Cleveland Indians placed minor league pitcher Nick Hagadone on minor league baseball's disqualified list for a self-inflicted injury to his pitching hand after he pitched poorly in a game. Teams sometimes use the disqualified list as a threat - in 2006 the Nationals threatened to disqualify Alfonso Soriano after he refused to play the outfield. The threat worked.

Should the Red Sox use it for Sweeney?

Reasons for Yes

Punching a door or any wall shows terrible judgment, if for no other reason than the fact that it is completely predictable that you can, and probably will, injure your hand by doing so. It isn't like Sweeney threw his bat in frustration and it somehow hit a wall and bounced back at him, or that he suffered some other freak injury. He punched a door.

Sweeney didn't act in the heat of the moment - there was at least 30 seconds between his ground out and his punching for him to cool down. The fact that he had time to think about what he was doing, and still did it, makes it worse.

Sweeney, who Baseball America called the White Sox's No. 1 prospect in 2006, is not new to the game. He's in his 7th MLB season and is 27-years-old. Punching a wall might be more excusable for a rookie, but not for a seasoned vet.

Sweeney's injury makes it much harder for the Red Sox to trade him before today's deadline. He's been rumored to be on the trading block (see NESN.com). If he's placed on the disabled list or disqualified list, he can't be traded absent the commissioner's approval. Even if he's not put on any list, his already low trade value (he's a corner outfielder who has 0 home runs in 204 at bats) has likely plummeted even lower. On today's Dennis and Callahan show on WEEI, it was even discussed that Sweeney may have intentionally injured his hand to not be traded - if so (and that seems unlikely and would also be hard to prove), the disqualified list would be even more appropriate.

Reasons for No

Unlike Carlos Zambrano, who had a long history of strange behavior, Sweeney has never attracted controversy and seems to be a good teammate. His temper just got to him and he did a foolish thing. To his credit, Sweeney has acknowledged responsibility and fault. He admits he let his team down (see Boston.com). It isn't like Sweeney is refusing to acknowledge he did something wrong.
If the Red Sox disqualify Sweeney, they will almost certainly have to deal with a grievance filed by the MLBPA, which will argue that the penalty is excessive, especially for a player without a track record for misbehavior. Keep in mind, the MLBPA does not want a precedent of teams disqualifying players, since other teams could do the same in the future. They would fight for Sweeney, if not so much for him than for their collective membership.

Moreover, as sports attorney/professor and MLBPA certified agent Jim Masteralexis tells me on Twitter, Kevin Brown and Doyle Alexander were not disqualified after they punched walls and were injured. While the Red Sox could argue those instances do not preclude them from punishing Sweeney, they are still persuasive precedent.

Although Sweeney is a free agent at the end of the season, the Red Sox would damage its relationship with him going forward by disqualifying him. The same is probably true of the team's relationship with Sweeney's agent, Larry Reynolds, who has a pretty impressive list of clients. Along those lines, would free agents be less likely to sign with the Sox because of how it treats Sweeney?

Verdict: I doubt the Red Sox will disqualify Sweeney, but if they did, I believe they would have sufficient grounds.

USA South Coaches Poll: 2012 Media Day

The USA South football coaches gathered in Danville at Averett University  on Monday July 30th to discuss the upcoming season, but more importantly participate in the coaches pre season  poll. The poll which is voted on by all eight coaches, depicts how they see the conference standings for the upcoming season. Coaches cannot vote for their own institution.

This year as in many years past, Christopher Newport was the overwhelming favorite to win the conference crown. The Captains garnered 6 of the 7 available first place votes. (Only 7 are available as coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team)
Ferrum received the remaining 2 first place votes. The results of the voting are below:

2012 USA South Coaches Preseason Poll
Rank	Institution (1st Place Votes)	Pts.
1.	Christopher Newport (6)	48
2.	Ferrum (2)	43
3.	N.C. Wesleyan	29
4.	LaGrange	27
5.	Averett	26
6.	Methodist	23
7.	Maryville	21
8.	Greensboro	7

Comparing this to my predictions, there are three picks that are the same. 1st, 2nd, and 8th places. The biggest difference is the Maryville pick...I have them third, and the coaches have them seventh. We shall see....It will be a fun season.

Go Panthers!

Penn State Death Penalty: Was It Ever Really An Option? (The Antitrust Problem)

Several recent posts on this blog have analyzed the NCAA's punishment of Penn State University in light of rumors that the NCAA would have given Penn State a four year death penalty if it had not agreed to the NCAA's alternative sanctions. (See here, here, and here). What almost nobody is talking about, however, is that the NCAA's 'death penalty' sanction may very well have been illegal under Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Thus, if the NCAA had attempted to shut down Penn State's football program, an interesting antitrust challenge could have potentially followed.

For those less familiar with antitrust law, Section 1 of the Sherman Act states that "[e]very contract, combination ... or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States, or with foreign nations, is declared to be illegal." In practice, this section of antitrust law is not interpreted to literally prohibit all contracts signed among competing businesses. However, the courts have consistently interpreted Section 1 of the Sherman Act to strike down contracts that are deemed unreasonable in terms of their economic effects.

As a private association composed of member schools that compete against each other for fans and players, all decisions reached by the NCAA or its employees are, in essence, horizontal agreements subject to Section 1 review. In addition, any agreement by the NCAA to ban a competitor from the marketplace would be defined as a "group boycott," which falls among the most troublesome types of agreements subject to Section 1 scrutiny.

The U.S. Supreme Court has already once prevented the enforcement of an NCAA bylaw under Section 1 of the Sherman Act that sought to exclude certain competitors from the college football marketplace. In that case, National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Board of Regents, the high court held that an NCAA bylaw intended to ban colleges that appeared in more than a certain number of televised football games was illegal because it "curtail[ed] output and blunt[ed] the ability of [NCAA] member institutions to respond to consumer preference."

Logically, the same argument could be made for disallowing the NCAA 'death penalty.' Although on a moral level the egregious wrongdoing that occurred at Penn State University cannot be compared to a school merely seeking to play additional televised football games, under antitrust law the reasons behind the boycott are entirely irrelevant. All that matters is the economic effect. In other words, as the Supreme Court explained in its 1978 decision National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States, "the purpose of [antitrust] analysis is to form a judgment about the competitive significance of the restraint; it is not to decide whether a policy favoring competition is in the public interest."

While it is true that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had rejected an earlier antitrust challenge arising out of the NCAA's first attempt to enforce its 'death penalty' (that time against Southern Methodist University), the posture of that case was a bit different. In that challenge, McCormack v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, the claim was brought by the schools' alumni, football players and cheerleaders, rather than by the boycotted school itself. Thus, the court determined that the plaintiffs lacked antitrust standing to bring suit, as well as that their challenge was merely at attack of reasonable athlete-eligibility rules. These conclusions would have been far harder to sustain if the suit had been brought by a school, challenging the financial implications of a boycott on their football revenues and merchandise sales.

Of course, antitrust law leaves open the possibility of other less restrictive forms of punishment against Penn State University that might indirectly lead to the same result. For example, any individual school can legally make the independent decision not to play Penn State University without running the risk of a legal issue. If all schools independently reach the same conclusion, there would be no antitrust violation. In addition, perhaps an entire conference such as the Big Ten could even decide to ban Penn State without significant antitrust risk if that conference is found to lack "market power."

Yet, for the very reason that the NCAA death penalty is often described by advocates as the 'ultimate sanction,' a court would likely not allow that result. Thus, no matter how abhorrent the leadership may have acted at Happy Valley, a court would not be likely to allow that to justify the entire college football industry collectively driving Penn State University football out of business.

Why it's a bad idea to prep too early for a college football blog

Yes, it's been an insanely long time since our last post here on the MZone.  But I'd be lying if I didn't say that the respite from the daily blogging grind has been much needed.  So I totally checked out.  And when I say I totally checked out, I mean I checked out.  So much so that I hadn't even looked at the MZone's email account in eons. 

Finally, over the weekend, with the 'Bama game just five weeks away, I signed in.  Among the many emails waiting for me was one from our ol' blogging cohort and wallpaper maestro, Andy.  On July 7th he wrote:

Yesterday I started getting that familiar "cant wait for football season" vibe again...

Celebrated with this.

Attached was the following wallpaper:

Yes, that's Fitz Toussaint.  The same Fitz Toussaint who was recently arrested for blowing a .12 on a drive through Saline.

Oops.

Just another reminder why you never, EVER want to prep too soon on a college football blog.  Shit happens.

Okay, need to get in touch with Andy so we can get to work on our big Frank Clark screensaver.  Gonna be awesome!

Adrien's Groaner

Adrien's Groaner

The Questions That Arose from the Last Minute Wrangling to Preserve Adrien Broner vs. Vicente Escobedo

This past Saturday, the now former WBO Super Featherweight champion Adrien (The Problem) continued his recent string of impressive performances with a fifth round TKO of Vicente Escobedo. Not as impressive, however, was what happened both before and after Broner weighed in for the bout. Broner weighed in at 133 ½ pounds for his anticipated WBO title defense and subsequently forfeited both his title and $60,000 of his purse (half of which went to Escobedo, the other half to the Ohio commission). The failed weigh-in took place after Broner posted several pictures of recent desserts to his Twitter feed and publicly stated that the Escobedo fight would be his last at 130 pounds. Over the following day, it appeared that Broner’s HBO main event was in jeopardy altogether, as Escobedo threatened to pull out after a second failed weigh-in before reportedly receiving over$50,000 in additional pay out of Broner’s purse. While there has been much outrage in recent years, notably as to Joan Guzman and Jose Luis Castillo’s repeated failures to make weight, the controversy surrounding the Broner-Escobedo seemed to quickly dissipate as the focus turned more to Broner’s obvious pound-for-pound level gifts after his hammering of Escobedo. Nonetheless,what questions were raised (and what lessons can be learned) by the near-dismantling of an entire HBO show over a weight dispute? A quick look follows.

To view the entire article, please go to: http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/5672/2012-07-23.html.

2012 USA South Predictions

As kickoff of the 2012 season  grows closer, I will again post my predictions for the USA South finishing order. Before I do that, here is how I did in 2011.

My predicted order of finish last season was :

1  CNU
2  Ferrum
3  N.C. Wesleyan
4  Shenandoah
5  Averett
6  Maryville
7  Methodist
8  Greensboro

The actual order of finish was

1   CNU
2   Ferrum
3   Shenandoah
4   Maryville
5   Averett
6   Methodist
7   N.C. Wesleyan
8   Greensboro


So I got a few prediction correct, but this year, it really is going to prove difficult to predict the order of finish. Here are some things to ponder...

1 New team in the conference, and one familiar face has left.
2 Greensboro has a new coach
3 Maryville has a new coach
4 Ferrum and Methodist each have coaches in their second year.

These factors alone can make it difficult to predict who will finish where, but I anticipate many teams being close to equal. Parity will be very evident this year, and these predictions could be far off the mark. I am making these predictions one day ahead of the USA South Media Day and Coaches Poll, so without further ado, here is how I see them finishing up the season.

Ferrum College Football Report

2012 USA South Conference
Predicted Order of Finish

8th Place-   Greensboro College Pride

The Pride had some really positive moments in 2011, but unfortunately, these did not translate into wins. This season, long time assistant, Bill Young takes over the program with the departure of coach Randy Hunt. Coach Young has been with the Pride program since it began, and is looking to help his team "get better everyday".

Greensboro, coming off of an 0-10 season must focus on improving, but the hill they have to climb will take some time. I expect that the loss of 17 Seniors,will make that hill even steeper. I anticipate that the Pride will improve, albeit slightly.

Predicted Record-1-9 (0-7)






7th Place- Averett University Cougars


Averett struggled to a 3-7 mark last year, and will lose 12 from last year's roster. I look for more of the same this year, as this team is young for the most part and still developing, Given the parity in the conference this year, Averett will likely wind up on the short end of the score far too often. It will not be an easy season for the Cougars as both offense and defense will not yet be where they want to be. Look for this team to get better in the coming years, but this season will be a long one.

Predicted Record: 2-8 (1-7)

6th Place- LaGrange College Panthers



The newest member of the conference comes to the USA South, having finished last season as an independent, with a 4-6 record. Their victories came over N.C. Wesleyan, Maryville, Ave Maria, and The Apprentice School.

Graduation will hurt the Panthers, as they lost 16 Seniors. The losses will affect both the offensive and defensive lines, linebackers, D-backs, running backs, and receivers.
It's difficult to gauge their abilities, but I would imagine they will have struggles their first year in the conference.


Predicted Record- 3-7 (2-5)

5th Place-   Methodist University Monarchs

The Monarchs showed the conference that they will soon be a force to be reckoned with. While they only had three wins, Methodist gave clear indications of a team on the upswing.  They defeated Guilford,  N.C. Wesleyan, and Greensboro, while losing to Maryville by 2, and to Emory and Henry, and Averett by 7...and the Averett game was an overtime loss.

The defensive line looks to be where the Monarchs will have the most holes left by graduation, but this may not even be all that bad. This is a team that can surprise some people this year, and may well finish higher than 5th.

Predicted Record: 4-6 (3-4)



4th Place-  North Carolina Wesleyan College Battling Bishops

By comparison to recent seasons, last year was one that Coach Mark Henninger would probably just as soon forget. The Bishops finished an uncharacteristic 2-8 in 2011, which kept them out of the cellar, but just barely. It is difficult to say how much better this team will be this year, but you can count on  improvement. Look for the Bishops to be anchored on defense by Dwayne Hollis, and Taz Foster, These two standouts from last season will be back to do their part to get the Bishops in the win column.
Offensively, Wesleyan was far less productive than they had been the previous year. I would expect this to be a focus for this season, and I think there will be some  improvement. This team could be in the running at seasons end, but I see them on the outside looking in.

Predicted Record  4-6 (3-4)

3rd Place- Maryville College Scots

With a new coach, many teams will face uncertainties. In the case of the Scots, I look for them to pick up where they left off. After an 0-4 start, they won four of their next 5. They lost their finale to CNU, but the mid season turnaround was something to behold. Making things more difficult, may be the departure of Quarterback Melvin Burston. Burston, who had strong numbers last season, has transferred to Webber International University, an NAIA school.  I had Burston tagged as a possible USA South Offensive Player of the Year. This is a big loss for the Scots.
Under the direction of first year head coach Mike Rader, I look for Maryville to be very strong, right out of the gate. They will likely run a wide open no huddle offense, and will not be afraid to throw the ball. If the defense can come together and improve, look for Maryville to in the running for the post season as the season progresses.

Predicted Record: 7-3 (5-2)





2nd Place- Ferrum College Panthers

While the loss of Marcus Mayo would, on the surface seem to pose a problem, I look for Tim Reynolds to take the starting position under center and be a very effective leader.With the exception of Dontavious Gilbert, the offense is somewhat thin on experience in the backfield, as well as on the line. This unit will gel, and become one of if not the best in the conference. A fast start is imperative. If Ferrum can get the kinks worked out before the Emory and Henry game, and get a win against the Wasps, then I believe they could be 4-0 when travelling to Newport News to take on the Captains.

On the defensive side of the ball, Ferrum loses two from last years roster. (LB and DB). Look for the defense to be stellar. They will be strong against the run, and I believe will post impressive numbers. The Panthers will be a solid football team, just a little lite on offensive experience.

Predicted Record: 8-2 (6-1)

1st Place- Christopher Newport University Captains

Consistent- That is the story of this team. They are the perennial favorite almost every year, and rightfully so. They have a very strong program. Last year they were unbeaten in the conference, and were the USA South representative in the playoffs.

I look for a very similar result this year, but there are more teams this year in the conference that can make a legitimate run at them. I think any of the predicted 2nd -5th place teams, have the chance to knock the Captains off of their throne, but it will not be easy, CNU did not lose many to graduation, so the core of last years team will be back. If they stay healthy, and do not get overconfident, they will likely get the AQ. The chances of them not repeating is moderate at best, but to be sure, they are the team everyone will be gunning for.


Predicted Record: 8-2 (7-0)

What Olympic Sports Use The Most Mobile Technology? 28-07-2012

Summary: High-tech training has obviously been around for years and infiltrated many sports. But the London 2012 Olympics is a showcase for how mobile has also infiltrated modern athletics.

High-tech training has obviously been around for years and infiltrated many sports. But the London 2012 Olympics is a showcase for how mobile has also infiltrated modern athletics.

One reason is the way the Olympics is a one-every-four-years showcase for certain kinds of individual sports.

In such individual sports - think hurdling or diving - the emphasis is on the athlete to beat a particular time, distance or other mark. Practices basically become simulations of actual competitions, making them easy for coaches to study and analyze using high-speed cameras and/or motion sensors.

"USA Track & Field has the mantra that we are science-based, coach-driven and athlete-centered," said one of the U.S. Olympic track coaches interviewed in this AOL Autos video about the Olympics. "Just a 1-2% change can make the difference whether you're going to make the team or win a medal."

Another example is the Centre d’Alt Rendiment (CAR) in Spain. There, coaches study swimmers, gymnasts and other Olympians using HD-quality delivered to tablets in real-time. The video can also be easily shared via "videoconference with other collaborators or coaches who are not present to discuss how training programmes can be improved," said Philippa Oldham, head of manufacturing at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London.

While many coaches use laptop PCs, mobile devices are growing because of their portability and ease of use, says Oldham.

Since you may not see many athletes or coaches using their iPads during the actual London 2012 Olympics, what are some of the sports where mobile and high-tech was employed?

Swimming and Diving

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is one of the powerhouses in applying high-tech to sport. Scroll down half-way this Wired article if you don't believe me.

The AIS has invested $17 million in its aquatic facility, including the mounting of 30 cameras above, around and under the water and a motorized cart that runs alongside the swimmers to capture data on their strokes, said Oldham.

"The starting blocks are rigged with force plates and motion sensors all linked to plasma screens," she said. "This is to enable the coaches, scientist and athletes to look at exactly how the athlete is performing at all stages of their event using tablet devices."

One of Australia's greatest swimmers, Leisel Jones, used this technology to prepare for the Olympics. To improve the four-time Olympian and eight-time medalist's starts, coaches monitor and analyze her dives into the pool via tablets.

The tablet displays "all the parameters of her performance from the force she pushed off with, the angle which it was applied, her angle of flight through the air, the distance she went before entering the water, the angle of her entry and the depth to which she dived," said Oldham. Using these techniques has helped Jones reportedly shave four-tenths of a second off her time in the 100 meter breaststroke, for which she is the defending champion.

British divers and their coaches are also employing high-speed video cameras (100 frames per second) along with tablets to analyze divers' form, said Oldham. The tablets allow the coach review each dive in slow motion on a tablet device and compare it with previous dives.

Track and Field

For the last six months, U.S. hurdler Lolo Jones has done her practice runs with 39 reflective stickers are affixed to her body. These help the 40 Vicon motion capture cameras capture her runs at a rate of 2,000 frames per second. As Sports Illustrated reported:

Simulations of Jones's hurdling can be viewed from any angle, zoomed to any body part, slowed to fractions of a second and dissected and analyzed in mind-blowing detail. Center of mass is no longer a general area; it is a calculable point. Acceleration and velocity are not concepts; they are quantifiable numbers. These are workouts, yes, but they are also experiments.

"I've heard people say that the track athlete with the best scientists usually wins," Jones says. That line once referred to the sport's well-chronicled history of performance-enhancing chemistry, but in this case it's all about biomechanics.

To be honest, the Vicon analysis software apparently only works with PCs today. But Lolo was otherwise just too perfect of an example of the use of high-tech to leave out.

Field Hockey

I know I wrote that it's the individual sports that have taken advantage of mobile the most. But here's a team sport that is using iPads - the Indian male field hockey team.

The coach Michael Nobbs stores match videos, reports and replays on his iPad as well as draws up game plays and strategies using special apps. An Indian sports performance firm also provides analysis and detailed reports on matches and players to Nobbs on his iPad.

The players weren't left out. After the team qualified for the Olympics, each player was awarded a cash prize along with an iPad.

Sailing

It's no accident that high-tech moguls like Oracle's Larry Ellison and SAP's Hasso Plattner have been such huge supporters - and champions - of this sport.

Like race cars, the boats are hefty, expensive showcases for the latest technology, from hulls that glide faster through the water, to location-based analytics that help sailors avoid obstacles during races and plot the best, wind-aided courses.

Sailing Team Germany, Germany's Olympic representative, is using GPS tracking data from each boat and buoy, analytics software from my employer, and iPad dashboard apps to improve its times.

“We are getting away from guesswork towards factual knowledge, because now we have analytics tools that visualize how the race happened accurately," Marcus Baur, director of Sailing Team Germany, told SAP News "Although intuition will always play a large role in sailing, we are now adding facts to it and we become much more effective that way analyzing our performance.”

Check out a 3-minute video here which adds mor detail on how the SAP HANA database crunched more than 12.5 million data points from the Kiel Woche race last month and displayed them on the SAP BusinessObjects Explorer for iPad app.

This technology is critical for STG's chances at the Olympics, said Joachim Helmich, head of STG Academy, in the same article.

"With the current prediction system for Weymouth harbor, where the Olympic sailing will be carried out, we are better than any nation around the world," he said. "The simulation of the current at the Olympic venue is perfect and we are better informed than anyone else around."

Future Sport

iPads weren't even around at the last Olympics, but they are having an impact. So something embryonic like augmented reality headsets - think Google’s ‘Project Glass’ - could easily be in heavy use by 2016 in Rio, said Oldham.

"Headsets could give instant performance analysis, track competitors and even offer cyclists a rear view mirror," she said. "Spectators using the same hardware could get instant statistics on each rider or see the race as the athletes do."

Sensor technology is also advancing rapidly, going into things like tennis racquets, running shoe...

more read here

Football Rebels: Sarajevo Film Review 28-07-2012

The documentary follows the lives of five footballers who made their mark both on and off the field.

The French soccer legend turned actor Eric Cantona presents this globe-trotting documentary, a tribute to five fellow footballers who courageously risked their lives and careers by taking high-profile stands against political and social injustice. Co-directed by two award-winning journalists, Football Rebels combines serious subject matter with a sharply edited, fast-paced, glossy visual style. Filmed in multiple languages, it also features commentary from eminent guests including Cantona’s film-making comrade, Ken Loach.

OUR EDITOR RECOMMENDS

Children of Sarajevo: Cannes Review

Clip (Klip): Saravejo Film Review

Shortly after its gala screening at Sarajevo Film Festival last week, Football Rebels premiered on the highbrow Franco-German TV channel Arte, one of the film’s financial backers, with simultaneous release on home entertainment formats in France. A similar small-screen future seems likely in other markets too, although the film’s starry guest list and classy production values may help secure theatrical runs in some football-loving territories.

STORY: Redemption Street (Ustanička Ulica): Saravejo Review

But it is not necessary to be a soccer fan to enjoy Football Rebels. Indeed, like this reviewer, you can feel utter indifference towards the world’s favorite sport and still find these stories inspiring and informative. As it happens, there is very little actual football footage in the film, because these are primarily stories of heroic principle and self-sacrifice away from the game.

Four of the film’s five “rebels” are interviewed on camera. Didier Drogba of Cote d’Ivoire, who played peacemaker in his country’s civil war. The Chilean Carlos Caszely, who took a daring  public stand against General Pinochet’s brutal regime. Algeria’s Rachid Mekhloufi, who defected from France to join a symbolic Algerian propaganda team in protest against French colonial rule. And Bosnia’s Predrag Pašić, who braved bombs and bullets in war-torn Sarajevo to run a football school for children from multi-faith backgrounds.

A fifth subject agreed to appear in Football Rebels, but died in December last year, shortly before his scheduled interview. The flamboyant Brazilian midfielder Sócrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira was not just a world-class player but also a qualified doctor, public intellectual, newspaper columnist, aspiring novelist, keen smoker, heavy drinker, national hero and high-profile campaigner for democracy when Brazil was still a military dictatorship. Universally known by his first name only, Sócrates deserves a feature-length film of his own.

As well as backing the film through his Canto Bros production company, Cantona’s chief on-screen contribution is as gruff anchorman, setting up each chapter with his signature mix of homespun philosophy and vague menace. There is an edge of Napoleonic arrogance in his puffed-up public persona, but always undercut by deadpan self-mockery. Anyone who saw Cantona in Loach’s Looking for Eric, or his hilarious media interviews during his tenure at Manchester United, will be familiar with his knowing brand of Gallic pomposity.

With limited time for each profile, this densely packed documentary is sometimes guilty of glibness and sloganeering. There is scant room for ambivalence or complexity in these compressed life stories, which are relentlessly positive and often frustratingly low on context. That said, the film-makers cover a lot of ground, jumping fluidly between different decades, continents and languages. Unlike the game which inspired it, Football Rebels is never boring.

Venue: Sarajevo film festival screening, July 11

Production companies: 13 Productions, Canto Bros, Arte France

Cast: Eric Cantona, Didier Drogba, Carlos Caszely, Rachid Mekhloufi, Predrag Pasic, Ken Loach

Directors: Gilles Rof, Gilles Perez

Writers: Gilles Rof, Gilles Perez

Producers: Cyrille Perez, Gilles Perez

Cinematography: Patrick Feinstein, Gherdoussi Sylvain Luini

Editor: Emmanuel Besnard, Laurence Generet

Sales company: Arte France

Rating TBC, 90 minutes

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Football in Olympics is a dream that could become a reality 28-07-2012

A funny thing happened as the concept of fielding a basketball "Dream Team" in the Olympic Games evolved over a decade-and-a-half.

The United States lost.

The Games of the XXX Olympiad are under way in London, and here's a look at what the Olympics would be like with America's game included. Friday, July 27 • Breer: Football in the Olympics? It could happen • Gridiron Breakdown: Olympics or Super Bowl? Monday, July 30 Michael Lombardi: NFL 2016 "Dream Team" Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in swimming Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in basketball Photo essay: NFL players to take part in Olympics Tuesday, July 31 Jeff Darlington: Links between NFL and Olympics Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in boxing Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in gymnastics Pick Six: NFL cities as Olympic hosts Wednesday, Aug. 1 Bucky Brooks: NFL's five best athletes Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in handball Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in beach volleyball Photo essay: Dominating NFL players vs. Olympians Thursday, Aug. 2 Bucky Brooks: NFL's five fastest players Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in weightlifting Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in track Friday, Aug. 3 Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in wrestling Daniel Jeremiah: NFLers in tennis

Though it was once unthinkable, it happened in 2004, at the hands of the Argentineans. A bronze medal and the eventual overhaul of USA Basketball resulted. But that was hardly the most significant development to come out of the whole ordeal.

The world caught up with -- and finally slayed -- a red-white-and-blue Goliath. Though a devastating blow to that particular team, it validated the notion that the game could be played internationally at the highest level.

So now, with NFL training camps opening and the world's attention turning to London and the 2012 Olympic Games, the question can be asked: Could American football enjoy the same type of evolution?

"In basketball, 50 or 60 years ago, we were killing people, and look at it today," said USA Football executive director Scott Hallenbeck. "Because everything's at hyperspeed right now, I might suggest you could cut that 50-year window in half, or to a third of what it was. With how fast things move, we could be closer than you think."

Those outside the American football community are far more skeptical. One Olympics source said that the idea of this sport being added to the games is "not even in the realm of possibility," citing the removal of baseball and softball -- games that are further along internationally than football -- due in part to American domination.

That's not stopping the International Federation of American Football from moving forward. Formed in 1998, the federation joined SportAccord, an overarching international organization designed to unite sports federations, as a provisional member in 2003, and gained full membership in 2005. Forming a federation was one of the first steps toward inclusion in the Olympics; joining SportAccord was the next.

The governing body applied for recognition by the International Olympic Committee earlier this year, taking the third step toward becoming an Olympic sport; a decision from the IOC is expected by the end of the year. Hallenbeck said that while many of the qualifications for recognition are "not clear at all," the IFAF is in compliance with two that are cut-and-dry -- a sport must have at least 50 federations, and it must have at least one federation on each continent.

There are now 64 American football federations worldwide; the incorporation of an African federation last summer, in Nigeria, filled the final continental void for the IFAF.

If recognition by the IOC comes, only one step would remain -- entrance into the Olympics. That, everyone admits, is still a long way off. But some insist that, despite the hurdles ahead, it's not a pipe dream.

"In theory, if we get recognition this year, which we could, we'd be in play for 2020," said Tommy Wiking, the Sweden-based president of the IFAF. "Our next shot after that is 2024, and the decision on (pursuing) that will be made in four or five years. If everything goes our way, 2024 is possible. Do I think we'll be in the games in 2024? No, not really. I think we'll have IOC recognition -- if not this year, then next year -- and (we'll) go from there."

Though basketball might seem a good example for American football to follow, rugby's path is more appropriate. That sport will return to the games -- after being excluded for 96 years -- for a two-pronged trial, with competitions featured in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and in the 2020 Games. Rugby's backers had to battle for that achievement, and their view of football's chances is bleak.

Joining the global scrum

The version of rugby that will be played in the Olympics will be considerably different from the game in its traditional form, thanks to changes that were made to overcome three stumbling blocks that also face American football.

The first is a numbers problem. The Olympics caps its participants at 10,500 competing athletes and coaches. Rugby in its traditional form includes 15 players per team, with seven reserves on each side. The game that will be staged in Rio, on the other hand, is "sevens," a faster, nouveau version that features just seven players on each squad. Making a similar adjustment to American football could be problematic, thanks to the structure of the game.

The second issue is gender equality. The "sevens" version of rugby is better suited for participation by both men and women. While there are women's football leagues in the U.S., the sport is predominantly played by men on an international level.

Rugby, which has taken a rocky path to Olympic inclusion, could serve as an example for American football. (Lars Hagberg/Associated Press)

The third issue is related to the Olympics' relatively compressed three-week length. Traditional rugby, which is quite brutal, couldn't be played every day; American football would face the same hurdle.

And those are just the preliminary barriers, according to those who went through the process with rugby.

"The challenges that (American football) has is their lack of a global presence," said Nigel Melville, CEO of USA Rugby. "Rugby is played in over 115 countries and they're all members of the International Rugby Board. To progress to the Olympic level, the sport needs to be global. Softball, for example, came out of the games because it wasn't global. Golf, on the other hand, got in. But all the sports there are being played pretty much globally. American football is recognized globally as a sport, but it's not played globally."

Teaching, coaching and playing traditional, 11-on-11, full-contact American football is an expensive and involved process. Globalizing the game isn't as simple as, say, putting up two hoops and handing a basketball to a group of kids.

Recently, the NFL has tried to solve that challenge by exporting -- yup -- a modified version of its traditional game.

"Flag football has become the focus (of international growth)," said Chris Parsons, NFL vice president of international. "Flag is growing fast. Mexico's an example of its development -- we have over a million kids in Mexico participating. We've gotten great support, we bring in sponsors, we hold a proper tournament every year. In Japan, it's one of five sports that kids can participate in at school. It's mandatory that schools have five sports, and flag football is one of them."

The idea, for now, is that flag football can be a gateway to the traditional game in these places around the world. That kind of creative approach might be necessary -- as it was with rugby -- to meet the Olympic challenge.

Leveling the field

Earlier this month, the U.S. lost for the first time in international football competition, dropping the U-19 IFAF World Championship to Canada with a 23-17 loss.

It's true that the U.S. team might not have been the very best our country could offer. It's also possible that the other countries in the tournament took the event more seriously than the U.S. squad. But by any measure, the fact that an international team stood up to a big, bad U.S. roster dotted with current or future collegiate players is a positive development for the game.

USA Football is trying to increase the sport's global appeal. (Courtesy USA Football.)

However, there's still a sizable talent disparity. There's no doubt that if American football were played at the 2012 Olympics, the U.S. team would romp through the field like it was playing "Madden" on the rookie difficulty setting.

How does the rest of the world stack up? For now, Canada, Mexico and Japan are on the second tier internationally, according to Wiking, Parsons and Hallenbeck. The next level, from a playing standpoint, includes some combination of Germany, Austria and France, depending on who you talk to. No one's arguing that those countries are anywhere close to truly matching the U.S. But Wiking says that gap might not be quite as enormous as one might assume.

"To be honest, there are players in Austria and Germany, if given a fair chance at an NFL camp, that I think would take a roster spot," Wiking said. "I have no doubt. We have guys in Germany where, if they started playing here and went to college, they'd make it. The problem is, if they don't go to college in the U.S., there are coaches that just think that the players aren't worthy."

The problem, Wiking explains, isn't just stateside. In most other countries, athletes grow up playing sports in club systems run by national federations rather than playing at schools. The people who run the federations know that college coaches in the U.S. are unlikely to want their players working with a national team in the summer. So they aren't eager to export their players and risk losing them to a collegiate team.

Basketball, baseball and hockey don't face these issues. Teenagers from around the world are allowed to enter those drafts, and it's common for U.S. teams to cull talent from other countries' developmental programs.

Wiking optimistically projects that American football players in other countries are "six to eight years away" from competing with top college players in the U.S. and "12 to 15 years away" from competing with NFL players.

Most team sports in the Olympics are developed enough internationally that around 12 countries, on average, are able to compete in them. There's no question that far fewer than a dozen nations would be able to compete in American football. It is possible, according to Wiking, to gain acceptance with just eight countries at a competitive level, but football's far from that number, too.

"The game has to develop to the point where our world championships are flat-out competitive," Hallenbeck said. "Six of the eight teams there are competitive at the men's level, but you're still talking about college grads that aren't even making it to the Arena League. The first step, really, is (to) start seeing more international players in the NFL, like you see in basketball now, where it seems like every team has an international player or two."

But first ... the world

The NFL and various American football federations share a very real interest in international growth. The NFL has given those federations access to its resources, along with permission to distribute NFL Films footage throughout the world. It's why Parsons' team works closely with Wiking's and Hallenbeck's groups.

"To me, (Olympic inclusion would) do three things," Parsons said. "First, it'd legitimize our sport as a participation sport around the world, not just one played in the U.S. ... The second area is it really does help to create another opportunity to engage the youth, which is often a hard-to-reach group. Kids with time to play do things they watch on TV, so it'd be a good way to get youth engagement.

"And the third piece, and time will tell how impactful it is here, we had a situation with the Australian federation where we applied for government funding on the grassroots level, and we found you don't get time if the federation doesn't have an Olympic team. It really could be a nice accelerator."

Despite the NFL's strategy of staging games in London, American football does not rank among the more popular sports in the UK. (David J. Phillip/Associated Press)

For now, the league is continuing forward with its initiative in London and the annual game at Wembley. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said earlier this summer he'd like to see a team based there in the next decade. Parsons, however, said American football would have to be "a top four or five sport" there from a popularity standpoint to sustain a team, and it now stands seventh or eighth. The Buffalo Bills, meanwhile, are re-upping their agreement to play games in Toronto, a city the league believes could sustain a team right now.

Inclusion in the Olympics, though, is still the big prize.

"For folks like me, in terms of our work with an international federation, it'd be like striking gold," Hallenbeck said. "It's the greatest end result; it'd mean we've achieved the ultimate goal. For the NFL, there'd be a delicate balance, in not wanting (to upstage) the grandeur of the Super Bowl. But from a USA Football standpoint, it would be the ultimate stage to promote our game. It would mean we'd been extremely successful growing our game."

Players have spoken out about the issue. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently expressed his desire to compete in the Olympics.

He will never get that shot. The odds are long for the next generation of players, as well. But the benefits of going for inclusion, and the windfall that would result, are so significant that those like Wiking and Hallenbeck don't hesitate to chase it.

"If you were to ask someone 25 years ago if there'd be as many non-Americans in the NBA as there are now, they'd have said no," Wiking said. "If you said 40 years ago that half the players in the NHL would be from outside North America, they'd think you were very wrong. And it's the same in all sports. You open that door for other countries, and they will get better."

Recognition by the IOC would jar the door loose for American football. Swinging it wide open will be much more daunting.

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