 It’s
one of those weeks where the best action isn’t on the field but in the
owner’s box, where we wouldn’t be surprised to see a few board meetings
or executive memos show up on the SportsCenter highlight reel. This morning, all eyes are again on the Boston Red Sox in the wake of Theo Epstein’s dramatic exit
– but, just in the spirit of not talking about the Sox or Yanks first
thing in the morning, let’s instead go south to Louisiana, where the
future of the NFL is up for grabs.
Saints owner Tom Benson is having such a bad week even Karl Rove
feels sorry for him. It’s unclear whether New Orleans will be able to
support a football team any time soon, and Benson was widely rumored
last week to be contemplating a permanent move to San Antonio (or
perhaps just using San Antonio as a jumping-off point towards Los
Angeles, ever the dreamy vacation spot of wistful NFL owners).
Instead, the Commish laid down the law, and stated in the language of unequivocal PR that the Saints aren’t going anywhere.
Which leaves Benson in a hugely precarious situation: he’s earned the
loathing of Saints loyals, and the disrespect of the League apparatus,
at the same time. In fact, Benson was in such a bad mood on Sunday that
he attacked a TV camera crew reportedly just taping as usual, action for which he will now reportedly not receive League discipline.
The question here at SMW is not
specifically about the lack of discipline, but about the way that the
story has been put together. Last year, sportswriters organized nothing
short of a crusade against Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers after he attacked a television cameraman.
We mocked, booed, and derided him, quick to leap to the defense of the
innocent media bystander. This time around, Tom Benson is getting the
benefit of our silence; aside from wire reports on the incidents
themselves, there has been a dramatic silence on the part of NFL
analysts responsible to the politics of NFL ownership and management.
Importantly, Benson’s actions come just in the midst of owner negotiations over a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, as the current one (including significant revenue sharing and salary cap provisions) will expire after this season. King Kauffman points out that,
even while the League has busied itself honoring Wellington Mara’s
memory to the media, attacks on revenue sharing threaten to undermine
his actual legacy.
The success of the NFL relies upon public
sympathy with its model of tight control and highly-regimented
organization. When the media ridicules Terrell Owens, management wins,
because public sympathy stays away from the players themselves (and in
today’s America we are always preparing for the next labor
stoppage). So it’s no wonder that the media are willing to canvass
against Rogers, but less willing to do so against Benson: the stability
of the sport needs the image of sympathetic, benevolent owners
like Wellington Mara. The NFL, and the media giants that profit from
it, would be much happier if we all just ignored Benson for as long as
possible.
Say It Ain’t So, Theo
And now,
from the least-liked management to perhaps the most-beloved: Theo
Epstein has walked away from the Red Sox. No media underreporting here,
especially in the northeast. Last night, SportsCenter led with
the story, and spent ten minutes with a file photo of Peter Gammons on
the screen while he stumbled through unrehearsed analysis over a bad
cell phone connection. SMW invariably wonders where these people are
when we talk to them. In traffic? At the grocery store? Sitting at home
with West Wing Tivo-paused?
Gammons specifically said that he did not want to say that Epstein’s departure was just the result of an incompatibility with Red Sox President Larry Lucchino. Instead, Gammons suggested
that Epstein’s departure stemmed more from his discomfort with the
“rock star status” that World Series-winning Red Sox General Managers
are likely to earn. In the initial SportsCenter broadcast, Gammons suggested that Epstein might even be responsible for recent media leaks
(specifically the Ramirez trade rumor), possibly in an attempt to
sabotage the deal renegotiations. However, by the time of his live
video interview later in the night (and the footage getting re-aired in
this morning’s broadcasts), Gammons’ various summations had been
severely cleaned up.
In Boston, reaction has been severe; as Dan Shaughnessey points out,
Sox fans will almost certainly side with Epstein as “their guy” for
years to come, and view Lucchino with a certain amount of suspicion.
Shaughnessey does have some hope for the possibility of reconciliation,
though Bob Ryan admits that the power in the organization really does rest with Lucchino, echoing the more popular view that Epstein and Lucchino were locked in a powerplay that could not end peacefully. Certainly in the wake of Podesta’s ousting in Los Angeles over the weekend, Murray Chass is right to point out that management is going a bit crazy lately, but maybe Epstein just wants Podesta’s job
and that opening helped him to walk away. Or, maybe, Epstein just left
because he was so in love with the 2004 team, a team which is now slowly getting dismantled, just as the White Sox are now doing. Maybe Theo just couldn’t bear to see it happen, not under his watch.
SMW Quote of the Day
Dan Shaughnessy, The Boston Globe
"Theo
has been the John F. Kennedy of Boston baseball, a shining prince. He
was born and raised to be GM of the Red Sox and should have stayed in
the job forever. Halloween '05 goes down as a sad day in Boston sports
history. Pumpkins smashed and hopes dashed all over Yawkey Way. The
worst trick of all."
Tomorrow: SMW NBA Season Preview: We will
talk a lot about Phil, Kobe, Shaq, the absence of Amare, and the
Messianic return of Pat Riley. Stay tuned. |
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