Tom Talks

Gee, who goes next at Ohio State?

    The pattern of sleaze in the football program at Ohio State is such that that the Buckeyes would have to clean up to get in the SEC. Auburn would look at the Buckeyes and say, "What's wrong with you?"

     Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel announced his resignation Monday.

     When I think of the investigation into benefits and breaks for Tressel's players, and the massive and failed attempt to cover it up, I think of Ohio State president Gordon Gee.

     When asked about Tressel's dismissal, Gee said, "I just hope (he) doesn't dismiss me."

      Even if Gee was joking, the joke fails as badly as his defense of his coach did. Gee sounds like yet another adult who is ever so excited to get close to a major college athletic program.

      Tressel won't dismiss Gee, not now. I can't speak for the school's trustees.

 

 

 

Grandstands not crowded because everybody was in the drivers' meeting

    The drivers' meeting was the first place in my four hours so far at Charlotte Motor Speedway that I encountered a crowd. In the very large room in the garage were kids, moms, dads, a guy with a giant red mohawk hair cut, a girl with a tiara, hundreds of cell-phone picture-taking fans and a large contingent of the military. There were drivers, too.

     Before the meeting, several dignitaries were introduced.

     The PGA's Bubba Watson received nice applause. NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre received more.

      Larry the Cable Guy owned them both. Larry will drive the pace car before today's Coca-Cola 600.

     "Git-r-done!" several fans yelled, and Larry flexed. He flexed before the fans yelled, too.

      Darius Rucker, who will sing the anthem, was introduced. He attracted almost as much applause as Larry.

        The Navy SEALs got a big hand.

        But the biggest and most electric occurred when the military was introduced. Everybody stood and clapped and cheered. Everybody wanted to say thanks.

       Cool to hear.

      

 

 

Big screen a big hit

    Saw a group of fans, 15 or so, standing next to the Bojangles in the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield, all facing the track. Who are thye looking at -- a famous driver, owner, legend?

     They were looking at the big screen and the final laps of the Indianapolis 500. Think of a flat-screen, high-definition TV, yours if you have one.

     The picture is that good. Remarkable piece of engineering. It will change the way fans watch races.

 

Drugs are bad. So is Boozer.

    Watch an NBA playoff series long enough and you're going to find players you like and players you can't stand. The guy I couldn't stand in the Miami-Chicago series was Carlos Boozer.

    He was fine at Duke. But he has devolved into one of those guys who screams at the slightest provocation.

    I hit a 5-foot jumper -- aaaaaahhhh!

    I grabbed a rebound -- aaaaaahhhh!

    I set a successful pick -- aaaaaahhhh!

    Boozer even screamed when teammates hit a short jumper or grabbed a rebound.

    If you yell all the time, you become predictable.

   "Hi, this is Carlos, and I can't come to the phone right now because I'm screaming for no apparent reason."

     Boozer also took a cheap shot, for which he was called for a flagrant foul, in the finale of the five-game series.

     Shouting was the only noise Boozer made during the series.

 

 

News release apology for Kyle Busch

     Kyle Busch's talked to the media Thursday. He said little. He talked as if reading from a news release. He talked without emotion. He repeated the same phrases. He's sorry. He'll learn from the experience. He'll move on. He invoked the military and the jobs his teams create.

     If I were in PR, I would have made a splash Thursday. I would have asked Busch to announce the time and money he will donate, to a charity in Iredell County, where he was busted for driving 83 mph over the speed limit, or to an organization that encourages young people to drive wisely.

     There's no way to assess the sincerity of an apology.

    But if I were guessing -- and that's all I can do -- I'd guess that Busch was thinking about qualifying Thursday for Sunday's race. He and his employers undoubtedly will think about the ramifications of the speeding episode next week.

    They have no choice.

 

 

Dallas unselfish and smart, Oklahoma City is neither

    Dallas is smooth and well-coached. Players are unselfish. Everybody has a role, and embraces it.

    Oklahoma City is young, roles are less defined and players aren't always willing to accept them.

     In Dallas, everything revolves around Dirk Nowitzki. Teammates find him. And if defenses are skewed to stop him, Nowitzki often finds the open man.

    You saw the selflessness on Nowitzki's three-pointer with 1:14 remaining in Dallas' playoff-clinching victory Wednesday. He missed an earlier three on the sequence. Then his teammates snapped the ball from Maverick to Maverick and ultimately to Nowitzki, who hit the clinching three.

     Kevin Durant is a sensational scorer. He is Oklahoma City's Nowitzki. Lesser, but still one of the league's best scorers. The Thunder, however, often ignores him. Hey, who's that open tall guy over there? I don't know, says Russell Westbrook. Never seen him before.

     Westbrook shoots too much. The Thunder would still be playing if they had a point guard who looked for Durant.

     They don't.

      

  

 

 

 

 

Don't suspend Kyle Busch

    Driving 128 mph in a 45-mph zone is absurd. Driving 83 mph above the speed limit is tough to fathom. But NASCAR star Kyle Busch did that Tuesday in a Lexus sports car he test drove.

     My colleague and friend Scott Fowler wrote a strong piece in today's Observer in which he advocates that Busch's boss, Joe Gibbs, suspend the driver.

     I disagree.

     Would your boss suspend you for a blantant road violation? I don't know if mine would, and I prefer not to find out.

      I understand Scott's logic. Yet as foolish as Busch was, I contend the act doesn't merit a suspension.

       Just as church and state are theoretically separated, so is what an employee does at work and away from it.

        Busch has a apologized, and that's just a warm-up.

        Gibbs and NASCAR should demand that Busch be, or at least pretend to be, contrite. They should demand that he take an active role in convincing lesser drivers to joyride at lesser speeds. They should demand that he donate time and money to a speeding awareness campaign, or an organization that works with victims of speeding.

         Beyond that, let the law determine his punishment.

     And in the meantime, let him drive his race car on the track.

 

 

 

    

National Velvet?

    I ranked my top 25 sports movies of all time in a column today. The reason I did this, aside from a wanton desire to rank things, is that Win Win, a movie I saw Sunday, broke into the list at No. 11.

     The feedback has been unusual. You've been courteous. It's as if you have the capacity to disagree without turning bitter.

    If you do what I do for a living, you encounter a lot of bitter people. I'm talking about people that wake up looking for a reason to be unhappy. They're adept at finding one.

     But the readers that challenged my list have been respectful and informed. Each of them suggested at least one movie I omitted.

    The three they mentioned the most have to do with baseball: Major League, Bang the Drum Slowly and Eight Men Out.

      Eight Men Out almost made the list. Major League briefly was on it. Bang the Drum Slowly, I'll need to see again.

      Right behind them was The Longest Yard, both the original, with Burt Reynolds, and the remake, with Adam Sandler (and Burt Reynolds), as well as Brian's Song.

      Others: The Replacements, Rudy, The Sandlot, For the Love of the Game, Miracle, All the Right Moves, Remember the Titans, We are Marshall and National Velvet.

      Thanks for reading, and for taking time to write.

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not over until it's over. Still.

   After Chicago opened the Eastern Conference finals with an easy victory against Miami, there was a sense that Miami was overmatched and couldn't win. LeBron couldn't get open and Miami couldn't stop Derrick Rose and bring on the champ from the West.

    It was a stupid sense, but there it was. I wrote a column before game two saying that the series was far from over and that LeBron was and would continue to be a force. I was right, but I'm not bragging.

    What I don't understand is the ease with which sports fans surrender. My team is down at the half and they'll never come back and I never liked them anyway.

    Oops, nice comeback. Love you guys.

    Sports were once where people gathered to watch the improbable occur. Now it's a contest to see who can give up first, and blogs and email and Tweets make surrender easier than it has ever been.

     I still think Miami wins, but I don't know. I'm going to try something new. I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show.

 

 

Oklahoma City upset a testament to great coaching

    For the NBA playoffs to be great, the Western Conference finals have to be compelling. You know the East will be. The West was last night.

    The let's-see-who-can-give-up-first fans who announced after game one in the East that Miami couldn't beat Chicago said the same about Oklahoma City beating Dallas. But Oklahoma City won on the road last night, and both series are tied 1-1.

     Oklahoma City's victory was a testament to confidence and coaching. Scott Brooks of the Thunder had the courage to surround his best player, Kevin Durant, with four reserves throughout the fourth quarter. The subs were going to win the game or lose it, and they won 106-100.

     Russell Westbrook, an amazing athlete and a second-team NBA all-star, watched the entire quarter from the bench. Westbrook shoots too much. He ignores Durant, a potent and often unstoppable scorer.

     Westbrook lost the ball late in the third quarter to Jason Kidd and then fouled Kidd. Brooks said something to Westbrook and Westbrook said something back. Westbrook went to the bench fuming. Assistant coach and former point guard great Maurice Cheeks approached Westbrook, presumably to calm him down and wake him up.

    Everybody waited for Westbrook to return. He didn't. Brooks went with Eric Maynor, and the result was stunning.

     I love coaches -- and everybody else -- who has the courage to go against convention and trust their insticts.

     Brooks did.