* “Deflategate” really should be “Bradygate.”
Had it not been for the arrogant culture of the New England Patriot franchise (see “Spygate”) and its leading-man, mega-star Tom Brady, this whole football-deflating issue would be old “gamesmanship” news by now. And it surely wouldn’t be the subject of another ugly lawsuit for a business currently mired in “protect the shield” PR over domestic violence and concussions.
Now it’s something else to add to Tod Leiweke’s oversized, damage-control plate.
* Speculation is rife in St. Petersburg about the implications for the Rays as a result of a St. Pete city council primary election later this month. In short: Rays negotiations (to look beyond Pinellas County for a new home) may hinge on the District 7 race. Too bad Rays negotiations aren’t simply seen as hinging on common pragmatic sense and enlightened regional self-interest.
* Last week Florida State football coach Jimbo Fisher was interviewed on ESPN’s SportsCenter about the coming season and the transition for college players to the pro level. Along the way, he dropped in this statistic: the graduation rate of FSU football players was “80 percent.” Alas, there was no follow-up, because the pre-scripted interview had its time-sensitive agenda.
But I’ll ask it. How exactly does that 80 percent, far higher than the overall student-body percentage, play out? Are there breakouts for “walk-ons,” who are more likely to actually be “student athletes?” Are there breakouts by, say, position, race and playing time? Is there, for example, a notable incidence of bench warmers with respectable GPAs, legitimate majors and high graduation rates? Just askin’.
* The Bucs-owning Glazer family just received some very favorable news on that other sports franchise of theirs: Manchester United of the English Premier League. Man U just signed a 10-year apparel deal with Adidas for $1.2 billion.
* It was one of those newspaper (Tribune Metro) filler items typically prompted by somebody’s PR release. In this case, a photo and cutline of a Tampa Bay Rays player who was aboard a Carnival Paradise cruise ship last Thursday in Tampa reading that new Dr. Seuss book (“What Pet Should I Get?”) to a bunch of kids. The kids, mostly minority, were from a local SPCA Camp and a Boys & Girls Club. The Rays player, who was available because it was an off-day between the Detroit and Boston series, wore one of those big, goofy, red and white-striped hats.
The Rays player was Evan Longoria.
He’s their best known player. He’s the face of the franchise. And he’s not too big to do something nice for little kids.
* Imagine, half of golf’s top-12 World Ranking is comprised of Americans. And not one of the six is Tiger Woods.