So many times we are educated - and exposed - by our exercises.
What we are - more often than we care to admit - is reflected in what we do. Our most recent example from the sports realm came Monday night in Cleveland, as close to a dozen Browns knelt during the National Anthem. Among them was Seth DeValve, who became the first white NFL player to take a knee during the pregame patriotic ceremony.
DeValve, who is married to a black woman, told reporters after the game, "I myself will be raising children that don't look like me, and I want to do my part as well to do everything I can to raise them in a better environment than we have right now. So I wanted to take the opportunity with my teammates during the anthem to pray for our country and also to draw attention to the fact that we have work to do."
(Side question: If 12 players organized a prayer before a football game, shouldn't the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion people being investigating? Here's betting they skip this one, right?) Anyhoo, these protests are not new. And, they are not going away.
In fact, the numbers will grow to a place that the next barrier is which team will have more kneelers than standers? Which team will stay in the locker room as a team as a matter of protest? To be sure, the NFL, which famously charged the branches of the military a few years ago for the tickets to the game and the time before the game to "honor" our brave soldiers can hardly be too outraged by this.
But their fans will continue to be dismayed and even disgusted by what they perceive to be millionaires turning their back toward the branch of our government that allows them to play a game for a living. Yes, we have all heard from Colin Kaepernick's birth of this quiet and obviously powerful movement to each player who's done it and spoke on it since.
"This is not a protest of the military," the quotes uniformly start. "This is about equality."
"Or police brutality."
"Or the justice system."
Or, whatever.
But the ability to make a stand and the freedom of speech does not grant the ability to decide others perceptions or the freedom of the fallout.
These protests will continue to make headlines, and that should be expected. These protests will continue to generate talk, and in a lot of ways that can be a good thing. (If we are talking about ways to make our society better, that's great. But if we are going to have a direction-based conversation, it can't be just one-side of any discussion. That's a conversation for another day, we're already getting a blustery up in here.)
But, the players and the teams in general and the league in particular, needs to also know this: These protests will continue to piss people off.
Maybe that's a good thing, and the desired outcome for those taking a knee. We can see that motivation from the agitators and the debate stirrers. But, from a macro-view on the basics of a topic like this, see if you agree with this progression:
A) Players take knee in protest;
B) Fans get frustrated but understand and some conversation ensues;
C) More players take knees in protest, adding a few wrinkles to the debate and the direction of the dialog;
D) (Some) Fans' frustration turns to anger;
E) Protests grow, expand - here's a list of all the NFL players who protested during the anthem in week two of the preseason - and let's face it, considering that Kaepernick was one of the few last year to consistently kneel, and we had 12 Browns on a Monday night in August do it, growth is a given;
F) Fans get tired of sports being hijacked, realize they paid $100 buckets for a ticket and wondered why.
And before long, "Why" becomes "Bye" and said fan is no longer a fan.
Are we there yet? No, I don't think so.
But it will be very interesting to watch the TV numbers and how they trend this year - especially that Monday night opener which happens to come on Sept. 11. (Take a knee at that one at your own risk.)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Andrew McCutchen, lower right, is introduced as Little League World Series teams, rear, from around the world line the infield before the Little League Classic baseball game between the Pirates and the St. Louis Cardinals at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa., Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) On the other side of the coin
Maybe our children will lead us to a place of connection and acceptance.
The Little League World Series is a high-ranking event for 5-at-10 Sr., who coached all of the sports we played growing up. It's been pretty easy to see why so far.
Excellent storylines. Enjoyable finishes. Drama. Tears. Great emotional reactions. (Side note: If some of the guys playing in the big levels acted that way, we'd be spending a lot of time hashing out who's going to throw at whom and who's going to charge the mound when. Hey, MLB players and leaders, instead of worrying about those stoic 'unwritten rules' and having to waste time on something as juvenile as how players treat umpires, follow the proper lead of these juveniles and remember how much fun this game is to play. Hitting a home run should be fun. Right?)
Anyhow, side rant over, here's a Tuesday tip of the visor to those preteen players in Williamsport, Pa.
Here's the latest example that showed us the special side of sports we all love (from the AP account):
Dominican Republic Little Leaguer Edward Uceta has been the breakout star of this year's Little League World Series, but he took the loss Monday as his second pitch following a lengthy rain delay was hit for a triple by Omar Romero to give Venezuela a 3-2 walk-off win in the bottom of the sixth inning.
While the Venezuelan players celebrated the victory that moved them forward in the Little League World Series, Uceta collapsed face-down on the ground at the pitcher's mound. Eschewing their own team's celebration, some of Venezuela's coaches and players went out to the mound to console the 4-foot-8 player.
"Edward has a big heart. It was sad," Venezuela manager Alexander Ballesteros told reporters after his team's win. "It could have happened to anyone."
Now, that's what I'm talking about, before or after the game.
Alabama redshirt junior Ross Pierschbacher is part of a potentially menacing left side of the Crimson Tide offensive line.AP poll breakdown
We discussed the AP poll, and the variations and even necessity for it in the altered landscape of college football.
On Press Row (weekdays, 3-6 p.m. on ESPN 105.1 the Zone and simulcast right here on timesfreepress.com) on Monday, cohort Paschall made a good addition to the discourse. The second version of anything really loses a lot of its luster, he noted. Paschall's theory about second being the first loser still applies.
Coaches poll > AP poll this time of year, like Tombstone > Wyatt Earp and Armageddon > Deep Impact. (Although there's really no winner in that last one, right?)
Sure, the validity of both the coaches poll and the AP poll is gutted when the college football playoff committee balloting comes out in late October. So, with that in mind, come October and the first release of the college football playoff committee rankings, here's our guess for the three teams that will be the biggest movers from this day to that.
Upward
No. 14 Stanford is the most physical team in the Pac-12. That will serve them well. (It's worked for Alabama.) The winner of the Stanford-USC game on Sept. 9 will zoom forward.
No. 12 Auburn has its toughest hurdles in the back half of the schedule (other than a Sept. 9 trip to No. 5 Clemson, and we think that one is way more winnable than a lot of folks believe). Plus, we believe Jarrett Stidham has the goods. (But we are a hopeless Auburn optimist.)
No. 18 Miami has a ton back, and while FSU and Clemson have a lot of preseason All-Americans on defense, the Hurricanes front seven does not have to apologize to anyone.
Downward
No. 4 USC has the preseason Heisman favorite in quarterback Sam Darold, but it's wrestling with some scary recent history. The last three times the Trojans started the year in the AP top 10, they lost at least four games.
No. 5 Clemson has two defensive linemen who are as good as anyone in the country. But you can't lose as much as the Tigers lost - leading rusher, passer, receiver and defensive heartbeat in Ben Boulware - and not feel it.
No. 9 Wisconsin has an easy schedule - no Penn State and no THE Ohio State - and will not see a preseason ranked team until Michigan in early November. But the offense is limited and the tried and true defense lost its leader in Jack Cichy, who tore his ACL.
This and that
- Speaking of protests, we asked UTC football coach Tom Arth on Press Row on Monday if he had discussed pregame procedure with his team and whether he expected any protests. He said he had not and did not. He was good on Monday, and like his predecessor, refused to give his take on my annual preseason prediction that UTC would go 11-1. Here's the interview in case you missed it.
- Dodgers played. Dodgers won, beating Pittsburgh 6-5 with a 12th-inning homer from Yaisel Puig. L.A. is 88-35.
- Braves played. Braves lost, falling 6-5 to Seattle. Mike Foltynewicz was roughed up again, allowing six earned in 5.2 innings. In his last five starts, Folty (10-9, 4.95 ERA on the season) is 1-4 with 26 earned runs allowed in 22 innings.
- We've always known that Vegas is about the money. Now, it's about The Money, as in Floyd "Money" Mayweather. According to this story from CBSsports.com, Vegas sports books are saying that for every dollar bet on Mayweather there is 16 bet on Conor McGregor for their fight Saturday. The director of trading for the William Hill sports book said if McGregor wins it would a "high-seven-figure loss" for the house.
- LeBron James had no answer for Blake Griffin's statements that he believes King James is headed to NYC next summer. Here's LeBron's Sgt. Schultz impersonation from "Hogan's Heroes" - "I Know Nothing" - on the matter.
- UT wide out Josh Smith could miss as much as two months with a broken collar bone. Here's TFP UT ace Dancin' David Cobb's report.
- Odell Beckham Jr. left the game with an ankle injury on a low hit form the Browns corner. There was talk about the hit being dirty, but in an age in which everyone gets fined for hitting high, tackling low is the only way for defenders to go.
Today's question
Hey, true or false Tuesday. It's like Fat Tuesday, without the hurricanes, beads and boobs and with true or false questions.
Excellent.
True or false, you will watch less NFL this year specifically because of the national anthem protests.
True or false, Wilt Chamberlain is the most underrated superstar in NBA history. (From yesterday, when Wilt turned 81.)
True or false, USC is overrated at No. 4.
As for the day, well, it's Aug. 22. Not sure how many know this but 22 is our favorite number. So it goes.
On this day, James Corden turns 39. He hosts a late-night TV show and came up with the "Carpool Karaoke" gag that is YouTube gold.
LaMelo Ball is 16 today. Ty Burrell (Phil from "Modern Family") is 50 and Kristen Wiig is 44. Shirley (Cindy Williams) from LaVerne and Shirley is 70 today. Carl Yastrzemski is 78 and Bill
Parcels turns 76 today.
On this day in 1989, Nolan Ryan fanned Rickey Henderson to become the first pitcher with 5,000 career strikeouts.
As for a Rushmore, let's go here: On this day in 1986, "Stand By Me" was released. It's a personal fav. If that has a spot, and we believe Shawshank has a good chance, what other two make the Rushmore of movies from Stephen King writings?
Go.