NASCAR
You remember NASCAR, right?
It used to be full-speed adrenaline with characters and charisma. It was fun and fan-friendly. Simple entertainment built on the simple premise of who could get to the finish line first. Yes, there has always been a points title, a season-long champion determined by various values of success given at each individual race.
Now, with the characters and the charisma lacking - quick name the biggest star in the sport - NASCAR is trying to find ways to force feed excitement into its races.
Meet "stage racing" friends. In each of NASCAR's national circuits, each race will now have two extra determined stages - could be lap 100 or mile-marker 250, etc. - and who ever wins that stage gets playoff bonus points. Drivers who finish in the top 10 of each stage get championship chase points.
Who came up with this? The TSSAA and its 22* state high school football championship divisions. (Editor's note: The '*' is an approximation. Actual number is nine, but you get the idea.)
Or maybe this is the modern way of making sure everyone gets every opportunity to be called a winner. We'll call it Upward NASCAR, where everyone gets some points for something. Here, in as succinct way as possible, are the changes to the scoring breakdown as we understand it:
First and second stages: Top 10 in order get chase points (the points that determine the drivers who make the playoff field for the final 10 races of the season). These will be awarded in descending order with the stage winner getting 10, the stage runner-up getting 9, etc. The stage winner gets one playoff bonus point. Each playoff bonus point for drivers who make the playoff will be added to the reset value after the 26-race regular season.
Final results: The race winner will receive 40 points with second-place getting 35 and descending by one for each place accordingly.
Also of note, the regular-season points champion will get a 15-point bonus going into the playoffs. Regular-season runner-up will get bonus points and descending through the top 10.
So there's that. Upward NASCAR jokes aside, it's pretty understandable why NASCAR is trying to do this. More than any other sport, unless you are a die-hard, grease-stained NASCAR junkie, the outcome is all that matters. NASCAR is trying to find more ways to have meaningful finishes across a line crossed hundreds of times on Sunday afternoon or Saturday evening.
It's a search for more results-driven, photo-finish adrenaline, and that makes sense.
But here's the thing we all should remember: When we watch those TV medical shows, and the doctors stab a patient with a syringe filled with adrenaline, it's because the patient is normally about to die.
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James (23) looks up to dunk in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 118-103.(AP Photo/Tony Dejak) LeBron has a potty mouth
Wow, the Cleveland Cavs lost Monday to New Orleans. Yes, New Orleans. (Side question: If we polled 20 people at random on the street, how many of the 20 would know New Orleans' nickname? We'll set the over/under at 3.)
Anywho, the loss was Cleveland's fifth in its last seven games.
It also set LeBron James into a postgame cuss-fest that featured a slew of F-bombs and the simply put "It's been a s$%^&y 2017." A bunch of James' lament was directed at those in the Cavs organization outside of the locker room.
LeBron says they need a playmaker. (He said a 'F@$ing playmaker' to be exact.) He says he hopes the organization is not 'satisfied' after winning a title last year and still hunting for more. The roster is not as good this year as last, especially without JR Smith, who injured his hand late in 2016.
And, as James pointed out, the offense is very top heavy with James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Yes, James leads the NBA in minutes played, and that should be a concern for everyone in Cleveland considering the need come the playoffs for fresh legs. Yes, statistically he's been excellent - 25.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.4 assists, but more importantly, he's shooting 52 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3.
But the view from the outside in is that James has a large say in the managerial decisions of the Cavs - he has assembled several of his buddies on this team and had David Blatt fired last year before the title run - so wouldn't a large chunk of these complaints be some form of self-loathing?
Here's another thought: When the trading deadline comes around, there are going to be a couple of bad contracts on the market - D-Wade's from Chicago and Carmelo's in NYC - and here's betting the FWL (Friends with LeBron) club would definitely count in the F#$@ing Playmaker category.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn leaves a press conference at the football team's practice facility in Flowery Branch, Ga., Monday, Jan. 23, 2017. The Falcons will play the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday Feb. 5. (AP Photo/David Goldman) Super Bowl, 12 days out
OK, we are all amped for the big game. Right? RIGHT?!?!?!
Well, there is a lot of talk about the tiers of quarterbacks in today's NFL. After a wretched 2015, Matt Ryan was a little better than middle of the pack in the eyes of the Pro Football Focus analytical types.
Ryan, who had 21 TDs and 16 picks in '15 compared with 38 and seven in those respective categories this year, was ranked as the 13th best QB in the league heading into this season.
He delivered an MVP-worthy season. (He likely will win it, but if we had a ballot after the regular season, when these things are do, we would have had Rodgers, Ryan, Brady in that order.)
And that performance certainly faults him into the conversation of elite tier, right?
Or does it.
Remember, last year's MVP - one Cam Newton - was amazing then floundered this year. Yes, Ryan's sample size is bigger, but the question still seems fair: Where should Ryan rank in the NFL hierarchy at the most important and the most analyzed position?
First, there's statistically, and Ryan scores off the charts with this year's numbers. He led the league in passer rating - a number that ranks in the top 10 all time for a single season.
Second, and as we like to do on all of these, there's the 'Would this team trade their guy for him' scale. And that ranking there's impact on the team, fit, contract and age that plays into it.
So where does Ryan rank?
We'll weigh back in around lunch.
This and that
- There are a ton of details on the TFP site on the Oscar nominations that were released this morning. Apparently, there has been a lot of self-congratulating in Hollywood that the field is more diverse. OK, great. Whatever. When are the intense and watchful scope of the racial bull's eye going to land in Foxboro. It's obvious the Patriots are wide receiver racists. (Kidding, of course. Mostly. Hey, we're all for diversity and appreciate the views and input from all folks, regardless of anything. But shouldn't merit be more important than everything else in competitive endeavors. Side note: That's one of the great things about the comments here. Doesn't matter who is what, the discussion points are what matters. That's cool.)
- Here are the details from the Pats fan who pulled the fire alarm at 3 a.m. Sunday at the Steelers hotel. According to the arresting official, the vandal said, "I'm drunk, I'm stupid, I'm a Pats fan." A Steelers buddy of mine said his punishment should be spending 15 minutes in a closed room with James Harrison. Here's betting Pats Fan would take a year in jail rather than that fate.
- Man, all it takes is for Coach K to leave to see his importance. Duke lost at home to NC State for the first time since 1995 last night and could fall from the polls. Yes, Duke, a team with more talent than anyone this side of UK.
Today's question
It's a true or false Tuesday. Yay.
It also is the 70 anniversary of the NFL implementing sudden death in overtime scenarios.
True or false, Apple's Macintosh personal computer - which was unveiled on this day in 1984 - is the great invention of our lifetime.
True or false, John Belushi, who would have been 68 today, was the main reason SNL got off the ground.
True or false, Duke will make the Final Four.
OK, for the Rushmore, Neil Diamond turns 76 today. Yes, he's older than we thought, too. OK, what's the Rushmore of stadium anthems and would "Sweet Caroline" make it?
Go, and enjoy the day.