Colts Audible on Undefeated Season

Manning with Head Coach Jim Caldwell (right) need be on

both knees begging for Colts fans forgiveness and future

support.

In the NFL perfection is measured against the achievements of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, in this decade many have threatened none have conquered. First, it was the 2007 New England Patriots stopped in Super Bowl XLII. Flash forward to this season, two teams made a bid, the New Orleans Saints, crumble to Dallas in Week 15. That left only Jim Caldwell’s Indianapolis Colts undefeated entering Week 16.

Caldwell off to a roaring start in his first job as an NFL head coach at 14 – 0, led his charges into a game at home against the New York Jets, with the top seed in the AFC playoffs already locked up. The Jets conversely were a team facing a very muddled playoff picture. Only a week before their “genius” head coach Rex Ryan stepped in front of the press core and lamented his team’s elimination from the 2009 playoffs only to recant a day later when he found out that his team still had a glimmer of hope.

This competitive, enjoyable, and rather run of the mill 4:15PM game went haywire with 5:36 left in the third quarter and the Colts nursing a 15 – 10 lead. Caldwell committed a competitive treason against Colts fans by doing the unthinkable with a perfect season on the line, pulling Peyton Manning and other key starters, in favor of resting them for the upcoming playoff run. Three weeks in advance, I hope they feel good and rested.

Personally, I do not care to hear the explanations issued by Caldwell, they represent a very thin wooden leg full of termites to lean on. If I was a life long Colts fan I would be screaming for the ownership to fire this traitor as soon as possible, 14 and “ONE” record be damned. If the game was out of reach perhaps I can allow some slack to Caldwell, however in a five point game with an undefeated season on the line, pulling your starters is beyond comprehension. This shows a complete disrespect toward the home town fans who this week and every week prior have paid a premium to get a ticket to Lucas Oil Stadium to cheer on the home team. Typically, a crowd of crazed fans can help lift a team in a close game, yet in this case the head coach asks his star players to fall on their sword and watch the JVs surrender the pursuit of perfection.

Colts fans have been heard crying fowl on sports talk radio and in the papers, but they need to speak with more than their words they need to scream with their wallets. Colts fans if you feel wronged do not push and shove and pay any price for playoff tickets just move on like your team did on Sunday.

Ultimately, Colts fans cannot help but wonder WWTDD, What Would Tony Dungy Do?

Did the Pot Have a Point When It Called the Kettle Black?

John Calipari at a Kentucky press conference. AP / Reinke

Just because Bobby Knight is no longer patrolling the basketball sidelines does not mean that he is lost to the college basketball world. Knight is in his second full year working as a game and studio analyst for ESPN and apparently he is for rent on the motivational speaking circuit. Knight who retired from the coaching profession with 902 wins all-time found his way back into the headlines this past week for comments he made as the key note speaker at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Banquet. While discussing the present day status of the college coaching industry Knight mentioned, “We’ve gotten into this situation where integrity is really lacking and that’s why I’m glad I’m not coaching,” he continued “You see we’ve got a coach at Kentucky who put two schools on probation and he’s still coaching. I really don’t understand that.” Even the most casual fan should be able to realize that the coach in question is the check your wallet, slick, used car salesman, John Calipari.

Now for proper context it is important to note that in both investigations of improper conduct at UMass and Memphis, Calipari was never the target. However, to Knight’s point how can a head coach’s responsibility be divorced from actions that were seen as so egregious by the NCAA as to warrant the vacating of two Final Four appearances? The answer I’m afraid is summed up in only two words, he wins, which in the world of NCAA basketball translates to big dollars for his employers. In the case of Kentucky, the home of legendary basketball coach Adolph Rupp, the last few coaches have flamed out and the massive fan base is getting restless. So if you’re the athletic director at UK and you need to win now find a guy whose track record beams “Winner.” Integrity, what?

Enter John Calipari who trampled the promises made to his current players and some recruits at Memphis in order to take the helm of the Wildcats. Calipari is looking to cement his reputation, after his stints at UMass and Memphis he is seen as a good coach (let’s forget about the failed stint in the NBA, he certainly would like us to) and an even better recruiter, however if he can right the ship at Kentucky he will be elevated to legend.

The question still remains should he still have a job? Regardless, of whether or not the NCAA targeted or sanctioned his actions specifically, I refuse to divorce him of his responsibility as head coach of the team. Therefore, being that the NCAA found that illegal acts did occur; John Calipari should not be allowed to coach or should have at a minimum faced a penalty directly for actions that occurred under his régime. The NCAA’s failure to place any consequences on Calipari violates a basic rule of leadership which says that the leader is responsible for their own actions and the actions of those in their charge.

NCAA Basketball Inside Large Scale Venues

Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas hosting UNC and Texas

on Saturday December 19, 2009. Reuters / Mike Stone

When making a list of “large scale” athletic venues one would be remiss in leaving the brand new “Jerry Dome” a.k.a. Cowboys Stadium off said list. The $1.2 billion dollar stadium erected as an ode to its owner Jerry Jones played a neutral site host to this past weekend’s regular season college basketball match up featuring second-ranked Texas and tenth-ranked North Carolina.

Cowboys Stadium was hosting college basketball for the first time that day however; they were not reinventing the wheel. The first such game was held in 1968 as UCLA traveled to play Houston at the “Eighth Wonder of the World” the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The staging of these games have become more and more frequent during the past decade as the design and construction fad of large retractable roof domed football stadiums continues to expand.

As I watched the ESPN telecast the broadcast team featuring Dan Shulman on play-by-play and the one and only Dick Vitale as the analyst spent a quick moment discussing the concept of staging college basketball games in large scale venues or more precisely domed football stadiums. Dickie V’s stance was simple, he likes college basketball played on-campus where as he said, “it belongs.”

At the risk of tipping my hand on the matter it is important to note that this writer spent his four years as a college undergrad covering men’s and women’s basketball in the largest on-campus arena in the NCAA, that being the Carrier Dome at Syracuse University. The Dome presents an atmosphere and experience that I can say is truly awesome to be a part of, I can remember nights where sitting on press row my chair was literally shaking from the vibrations brought on by the crowd of 33,000 strong. Now I would argue that the experience watching a game at the Carrier Dome is remarkably different to those being staged at Cowboys Stadium. The layout is completely different.

Inside the Carrier Dome the basketball layout uses only half of the stadium placing the court essentially between a football end zone and the 20 yard line and from sideline to sideline, with the court being placed at ground level on a series of plastic mats that protect the FieldTurf below. Meanwhile, games contested at the likes of Cowboys Stadium, Ford Field, or Lucas Oil Stadium (home of the 2010 Men’s Final Four) use a layout with center court being placed directly on the football 50 yard line and the court expanding east and west with its end lines around the 35 or 40 yard lines. Additionally, to accommodate the vast expanse and those that bought the stratosphere seats up in the BYOO (Bring Your Own Oxygen) sections the court is built up on a raised platform that mimics a stage at a rock concert. Think theater in the round with 90,000 to 100,000 of your fellow fans.

The issue to me is one of scale. The staging of college basketball games in domed football stadiums started being used as the grandest of stages for only the biggest event on the calendar, the Final Four. Then the NCAA in an effort to test markets and facilities abilities as potential Final Four hosts expanded it to the regional round or the Elite Eight. Now owners of these massive monoliths are contracting with colleges and universities within there state or top teams from around the country to move regular season events to their stadiums. Plain and simple regular season non-conference and conference college basketball games belong on-campus. Half of the fun of the non-conference schedule played by some schools is to see your university match up against the best teams in the nation. Plus, if you’re the average college student who cannot afford to follow your team around the country during the NCAA Tournament, this may be your only chance to see a North Carolina, Duke, UConn, Syracuse, etc. in the flesh.

As for games contested in domed football stadiums, avoid tarnishing the grandest of stages, leave the grandest stage fallow until you reach the pinnacle of the college basketball calendar, The Final Four.