False Case Counts

Yeah there's a storm on the loose
Sirens in my head
Wrapped up in silence
All circuits are dead
--Golden Earring

As predicted by some, lots of false positives showing up in pro sports CV19 testing. Of course, they have the resources to get more tests.

77 NFL players tested positive for the coronavirus. All of them were false positives. So how many people in America have tested positive but never actually had Covid? Most people don’t have the resources to get their tests double checked.

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 24, 2020

Everyday people, however, usually get just one test. And false positive or not, that record goes into the official case count data base.

How many case counts being reported are the result of testing error?

Reinforces the lunacy of using case counts to assess pandemic severity.

#WeWantToPlay

Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger: I'm sorry I never got you to see your first game here.
Fortune: Hell, I've seen too many games in this stadium.
Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger: I thought you said you never saw a game...
Fortune: I've never seen a game from the stands.
Daniel 'Rudy' Ruettiger: You were a player?
Fortune: I rode the bench for two years. Thought I wasn't being played because of my color. I got filled up with a lot of attitude. So I quit. Still not a week goes by that I don't regret it. And I guarantee a week won't go by in your life that you won't regret walking out and letting them get the best of you. Do you hear me clear enough?
--Rudy

Because they have been unable to keep pro sports on the sidelines, authoritarians are seemingly pulling out all stops to cancel the college football season. Reports are circulating that the Big Ten and Pac 12 will announce cancellations tomorrow.

Statists have an edge here, since higher ed is tightly coupled to the same highly charged institutional field where socialist disruptors have been exerting influence.

However, people are pushing back. College players, families, coaches, athletic depts, politicians are using the hashtag #WeWantToPlay to symbolize their resolve to play this fall.

Arkansas’s head coach has endorsed #WeWantToPlay. Get ready, about to be a stampede of coaches to follow. https://t.co/4WHGz27He2

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 10, 2020

This morning, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said that not only should the ACC and SEC play this fall, but schools should actively recruit players away from schools in conferences that decide to shut their programs down. Would think they would collect a fair number of recruits.

AM @outkick is all about the battle to save college football — and all college athletics. @GovRonDeSantis is our guest and says SEC & ACC should play & recruit away Big Ten players if that conference won’t play. It’s fantastic. Go listen & subscribe: https://t.co/jEdVeVQzau

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 10, 2020

This is quickly escalating to something much greater than fall football. Should people triumph and claw back the season from the corona crowd, institutional pressures for CV19-related compliance could weaken considerably.

Opting Out

We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
Because your friends don't dance
And if they don't dance
Well, they're no friends of mine
--Men Without Hats

Currently, when people choose to 'opt out' of an activity, it is commonly assumed that they are doing so for safety reasons. They are afraid of becoming infected with the virus or of transmitting the virus to others.

This is undoubtedly true in many cases.

However, it is also true that some are opting out because of the oppressive regulatory environment that they would face by opting in. Freedoms are being restricted. Transaction costs are rising.

In Galtean fashion, if some players are not permitted to operators freely, then they won't take the field. Instead, they'll look for a different game.

PC Bowl

"You are fined one credit for a violation of the Verbal Morality Statute."
--Moral Statute Machine (Demolition Man)

Each year, the Super Bowl becomes increasingly difficult to watch. It is laced with so much innuendo related to diversity, social justice, et al. that it may as well be called the PC Bowl.

A microcosm of society at large, it seems.

Coping With Anthem Protests

Col Robert Gould Shaw: It stinks, I suppose.
Trip: Yeah, it stinks bad. And we all covered up in it too. Ain't nobody clean. Be nice to get clean, though.
Col Robert Gould Shaw: How do we do that?
Trip: We ante up and kick in, sir. But I still don't want to carry your flag.
--Glory

Favorability ratings are declining for the NFL in response to player protests during the national anthem. How can owners stem the tide? Similar to the NBA, the league could create a rule that requires players to stand for the national anthem. Such a work rule is fully within the owner's rights. Those who argue that the First Amendment generally protects workplace speech need a Civics 101 refresher.

Owners could also cease playing the national anthem before games. Playing the Star-Spangled banner before sporting events is a relatively recent institution. As recounted by Tara Ross, baseball appears to be the first professional sport where the national anthem was played before (or during) games, but it did not become a routine occurrence until WWII.

Because national anthems can be viewed as political statements, they invite push back from those with different political preferences. Why create such a forum for trouble?

While some people would immediately be upset with the removal of the national anthem before games, the long run effect would be to depoliticize an environment that nearly all consumers of sports, in truth, would like to see depoliticized.

Wounded Knee

Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
--Simon & Garfunkel

Some sports fans are pushing back against NFL players who chose to take a knee or sit during the playing of the national anthem before yesterday's games. Players shouldn't be making a political statement during a sporting event, goes the complaint.

I sympathize with that argument. When I sit down to watch football, I'm not interested in observing political protests by players on the sidelines.

The problem is that I already have to endure political statements during NFL games--and those statements are sanctioned by the NFL itself. It begins with the national anthem, which can be viewed as a pledge or oath to a political collective.

It continues with regular events that honor military personnel, particularly those who have fought in government-sanctioned wars.

Even the Super Bowl is not immune, as the president is routinely granted a 5-10 minute television slot during pregame festivities to make a political speech. This is always my cue to hit the snack tray.

The NFL is not the sole purveyor of political statements in professional sports, of course, as most other sports leagues engage in similar activities.

For those wishing to remove politics from sports, perhaps their first stop should be the owners' box.

National Anthem

Duke of Norfolk: Thomas, look at these names! Why can't you did as I did and come with us, for fellowship?
Sir Thomas More: And when we die, and you are sent to heaven for doing your conscience, and I am sent to hell for not doing mine, will you come with me...for fellowship?
--A Man for All Seasons

A country's national anthem can be seen as a remembrance and celebration of heritage. This is surely a reason why many people, particularly conservatives, are attracted to it.

But a national anthem can also be seen as a tool of indoctrination--a pledge of allegiance to a collective entity that demands surrendering one's self for the good of the state.

Those who refuse to take that pledge are called unpatriotic. Of course, patriotism itself can be seen as an instrument for driving isomorphism in collective regimes.

In a true land of liberty there can be no such mechanism of compliance. People are not required to swear allegiance to the collective because, by definition, liberty puts the interests of each individual first.

When anthems, pledges, oaths, et al are required of citizens to demonstrate that they are subservient to the whole, then that country is no longer the land of the free.

Kickoff Cometh

"And on the sixth day, He created the football player. And people paid to watch them hurt. And on the seventh day, they played FOOTBALL!"
--Stefen Djordjevic (All the Right Moves)

We usher in pro football once again today on a sunny late summer Sunday.

Crowded gridirons coincide with the harvest season--a season for which we are grateful for all that we have been blessed with.

Patriot Games

Jack Ryan: Where are you taking me, Marty?
Marty Cantor: It's you who have taken us, Jack.
--Patriot Games

Have never been a huge New England Patriots fan but it is difficult not to respect the game that this team has played for more than a decade and a half. Yes, they employ perhaps the best quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady. However, Brady's supporting cast over the course of his 17 year career has varied from year-to-year. It has included mercenary stars for hire like Randy Moss as well as no-names-turned-temporary-star like Julian Edelman.

Given their nomadic roster, the team's superior results over such a long period of time suggest that it's not merely the result of the superior talent of Tom Brady on the field. It is about Tom Brady and his supporting cast plugging into the Patriots' operating system. Head coach Bill Belichik is the chief software engineer, and he has mastered the ability to rapidly reprogram the system for a given situation.

The Patriots' spectacular comeback overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons in last night's Super Bowl was a sight to behold, and marked perhaps the pinnacle of the cooperative. By themselves, both Brady and Belichik are headed to the Hall of Fame. However, it would be nice if there was a way to capture the synergy of the Patriot system for display in Canton as well.

Marvin Harrison

Everybody calls me the quiet one
You can see but you can't hear me
Everybody calls me the quiet one
You can try but you can't get near me
--The Who

Belated shout out to Marvin Harrison for his recent selection to the pro football hall of fame. His stellar career stats (including #3 all time in pass receptions and #7 in receiving yards) largely accumulated as Peyton Manning's #1 receiver for the Indianapolis Colts, speak for themselves.

What stands out most to me about Marvin Harrison was his quiet demeanor (increasingly rare in pro sports) and how much he got out of his small frame (6 foot, 175 lbs is small for an NFL player).

I loved watching him play the game, and often imagined playing the game like he did.

Super Story

"My whole life, people have been telling me what I could do and couldn't do. I've always listened to them, believing in what they said. I don't want to do that anymore."
--Rudy Ruettiger (Rudy)

It was a pleasure to watch the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning win Super Bowl 50 last Sunday. A six point underdog, the Broncos were viewed as unlikely winners due to their lack of offensive capacity. In fact, the Broncos were underdogs much of the season and were one loss away from being eliminated from playoff contention with a couple of weeks left in the regular season.

The pregame storyline contrasted the aging Broncos versus the upstart Carolina Panthers with the two quarterbacks serving as microcosms of the narrative. The 39 yr old Manning, a 5 time league MVP viewed by many as perhaps the best the game has ever seen, is clearly in the twilight of his career and spent the season modifying his role from centerpiece to contributor in the Bronco's scheme.

Twenty six yr old Panther QB Cam Newton, on the other hand, plays with the epitome of youth. Big and fast, with the strongest arm I have ever seen on a quarterback, Newton, who was named this year's league MVP the night before the Super Bowl, attracts attention both on and off the field with his brash style.

The primary story of Super Bowl 50 was Denver's defense. The Bronco front brought relentless pressure, sacking Newton six times and forcing critical turnovers. Denver linebacker Von Miller won the game's MVP award, but the award could have easily gone to the entire defensive crew.

The most enjoyable thing about football from where I sit, however, is observing how teams adapt. All pre-game preparation is done under the assumption that those plans will require modification as the game unfolds. At the professional level, the winner is usually the team that can improvise the best during the game. Clearly, the Broncos won the day from this standpoint. They were able to counter a strong Panther defense and smother all attempts by Newton et al to break the Bronco's vice grip on the Panther offense.

It also felt good to watch Peyton Manning win a Super Bowl in what was likely (and hopefully) his final game. Possessing only a fraction of his former physical skills, Manning demonstrated how to adapt individual style to fit the team's needs. Manning built his reputation on an extraordinary work ethic and on ambassadorship for the game. Winning Super Bowl 50 as a contributor rather than star would constitute a fitting close to a storybook career that has earned the respect of insiders and outsiders alike.

Winning, Politics, and Conscience

"Power is not a toy we give to good children. It is a weapon. And the strong man takes it and uses it. If you don't go down there and beat Joe Cantwell to the floor with this very dirty stick, then you've got no business in the big league. Because if you don't fight, the job is not for you. And it never will be."
--President Art Hockstader (The Best Man)

During the Bengals meltdown a few weeks back, I found myself pulling for the team despite many actions by players and fans that were obviously 'below the belt.' I was willing to overlook them, however, because I wanted the team to win so badly.

It was the human inclination to win no matter what. To be associated with a winner. To look the other way. To subscribe to the theory that the ends justify the means.

No place in life exhibits this tendency more than politics. I've heard it said to the effect that a person who enters politics should expect dirty play because, well, that's how it works. "Whatever it takes..."

Politics, it seems, can't be bothered with conscience. Present fields of candidates merely reflect that mindset.

Sleepless in Cincinnati

Nickerson: Where are you going?
Stefen Djordjevic: Where am I going? No place, man.
--All the Right Moves

Am certain that many Cincinnati Bengal players and fans found it difficult to sleep last night after a late game meltdown that can only be described as 'epic.' Truly, fiction could not have told a greater tale of self-destruction.

The play calling and execution were certainly questionable and will be subject of close hindsight-oriented scrutiny for some time.

To me, however, the larger issue was complete lack of emotional control that escalated as the game progressed and hit a crescendo in that last 1:36. Regardless of what others might say to you, you choose your response. You do not have to take it personally. You can remain calm. You can simply walk away.

This is a lesson that should be taught at a young age. Bengals players, coaches, and, frankly, fans in attendance generally behaved like juveniles. An organization (and its supporters) that displays, condones, or tolerates such behavior is destined to face consequences similar to those experienced by the Bengals last night.

Gridiron Glory

"And on the fifth day, God created cheerleaders. And they wore short skirts. And that was very good. And on the sixth day, He created the football player. And people paid to watch them hurt. And that was good. And on the seventh day, they played football! Six-two stack monster! Six-two stack monster. Ready, BREAK!"
--Stefen Djordjevic (All the Right Moves)

Once again celebrating the return of football. College last week. Pros this week.

Harvest season is upon us.

Fall and Football

Roland Steele: Rudy, are you ready for this, champ?
Rudy: I've been ready for this my whole life.
Roland Steele: Then you take us out on the field.
--Rudy

Although the colleges began last Labor Day weekend, fall doesn't seem 'offical' until the this weekend with the arrival of the NFL. Only the barest hint of fall has been revealed--some early leaf turn and diminishing daylight. 

Indeed, during the first couple weeks of the football season, it is hard to imagine that the last few weeks of the season will be played in snow and cold. Because at kick-off, conditions are warm and the view downfield looks wide open.

Andre Reed HOF

And it won't matter now
Whatever happens to me
Though the air speaks of all we'll never be
It won't trouble me
--Toad the Wet Sprocket

Former Buffalo Bills great Andre Reed was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week. The wide receiver was finally elected after nine years of eligibility and eight years as a finalist in the voting.

Reed's numbers speak for themselves. Eleventh all-time in career receptions (951), 13th in receiving yardage (13,198), 13 seasons (including 9 consecutive) with 50 or more catches, seven straight Pro Bowls (1989-95).

The Buffalo Bills were one of the best teams of the era. They went to four straight Super Bowls (1990, 91, 92, 93) although they lost them all.

I admired Reed and his team because they never gave up. Their comeback playoff win against the Houston Oilers in 1993 was one of the most memorable highlights of that sports era for me.

Heartfelt congrats to AR on this Super Bowl Sunday.