Yesterday was New Year's Eve, and college football had been billing it as a huge evening for the sport. The "Final Four" was set, and the two semifinal games took place last night in the path to the national championship. While the buildup was great, and the games looked good, the night did not exactly live up to expectations. Clemson and Oklahoma were locked in a tight game through halftime, but Clemson dominated the second half, and they ended up winning by 20 points. In the nightcap, Alabama absolutely dominated Michigan State, and the game was over before halftime, as Alabama ended up winning 38-0.
I don't really have a horse in the college football race. I don't have any certain team that I firmly stand behind, but I just enjoy watching the games (for the most part), and I like the bowl season because it brings about debates that really don't exist in any other sport (professional or collegiate) in this country.
College football, and in many ways, college basketball as well, have now become more focused, in general, on the coaches as opposed to the players. Big-time coaches build programs and stay at schools far longer than any of their players do. Basketball has Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Calhoun, Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, and the list goes on and on. In football, there is Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Frank Beamer, and all-time legends like Bear Bryant and Joe Paterno. Even though guys like Pitino, Saban, and Meyer have held jobs at multiple schools, they are still better known at all of their stops than any of their players. That is why, prior to the Cotton Bowl last night, I was really disappointed in the head coach of Michigan State, Mark Dantonio.
When you think of the Michigan State Spartans and sports, you instantly think of Tom Izzo and the basketball program. Without question, the best player to ever don a Spartans jersey is Magic Johnson, but Tom Izzo is the longstanding mainstay when you think of the Michigan State basketball program. He has won the national championship, and led multiple teams over multiple decades to unparalleled NCAA Tournament success. At Michigan State, basketball is the top of the mountain.
However, after Mark Dantonio was hired by the Spartans in 2006, the football program at the school was immediately elevated to one that could be respected nationwide. As the head coach, Dantonio has turned the Spartans into an elite program. He has led them to three Big Ten titles, and has been named as the coach of the year in the conference on two of those occasions. This year, after thrilling wins against rival Michigan as well as Iowa in the Big Ten title game, Michigan State had a legitimate chance at playing for its first ever football national championship. Like I said, while I do not have a horse in the college football race, I was intrigued by Michigan State. They played a good brand of football, and while an extremely tough Alabama team stood across the field from them, I thought that they did have a chance to play for college football's biggest prize.
After the long buildup to the game, and a few interviews with Dantonio that I listened to, I felt like Michigan State was a team that would be nice to support. They were not the favorite to win when it came to the four remaining teams, but if they won it all, then good for them. I would be happy for the program. Then, the pregame interview happened involving ESPN reporter Heather Cox and Coach Dantonio.
Now don't get me wrong, I think these pregame and in-game interviews with coaches are useless. The reporters ask stupid questions, and the coaches clearly are not focused on how they answer them. I get it. When Marshawn Lynch was being killed in the media for refusing to answer questions during any and all interviews, I was on his side. But then, I thought about it more, and I realized that these athletes are paid millions of dollars to do these interviews. They are worth each and every penny that they make. I will always believe that. However, along with all of those pennies comes the responsibility to do these interviews that may seem pointless, but are still part of the reason they are being paid.
Does Marshawn Lynch have some sort of social disorder or is he just unwilling to answer stupid questions? Do guys like Gregg Popovich and Bill Belichick hate in-game interviews? Yes, they do. But the matter of fact is that all of those men make millions of dollars to be professionals, and being a professional means both accepting the rewards as well as accepting the downfalls. It isn't just these guys either. Do you think any professional athlete or coach wants to have a cavalcade of reporters asking him questions about how he failed after a loss? Of course he doesn't. But it comes with the territory. Mark Dantonio is making over $3.5 million this season. The vast majority of the year was a success, and he more than earned his salary. I don't know how much Michigan State University made because of its football program, but it is certainly more than $3.5 million.
The players make nothing, and the coaches make far less than what they provide for the universities that they represent. Is it wrong? Yes. But is it also reality? Yes. So my message to Mark Dantonio is this: After weeks of preparing for Alabama, is being somewhat, slightly distracted just prior to kickoff a small inconvenience? It might be. But, does doing so really change anything about how your team goes out and plays? No, it absolutely does not. So, suck it up, take 60 seconds out of your time to answer a few pointless questions, and at least make yourself, your players, and your program seem forgivable in a blowout loss. Don't blow off the questions and disrespect the reporter like you did, because when that happened, I no longer felt any remorse for you when your team went out on national television and got run off the field by the Crimson Tide. Hopefully while you sit at home and watch them play for the national championship, you can re-think your methods and come back next season with a more appreciative attitude about the status that you have.
Daily Giants Update: The Giants play a meaningless game this Sunday in what could be Tom Coughlin's final game as head coach of the team. Odell Beckham will be back on the field after missing last week's carnage, and no matter what the outcome of the game is on Sunday, the focus is now already on the draft and the offseason. Extreme overhauls may be in store, and it may be what the organization needs at this point.
Daily Rangers Update: After a very tough stretch, the Rangers finally got a win against Tampa Bay, but the team has still been disappointing up until this point. It is still far too early in the season, and the race in the Eastern Conference is still far too jumbled to come close to any kind of resolution, but if the Rangers want to reach the top of the mountain, they will need to play far better than they have over the past few weeks.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: Even though it may seem as though the team has already surpassed its budget, I understand that Arizona is still looking to make a few more moves before the offseason ends. Does that mean a new second baseman or more pitching additions? I'm not sure. Either way, with a new slew of uniforms and a new slew of players, I am looking forward to the 2016 season more than I have been for any season in quite some time.
Daily NBA Update: The Warriors won again last night, to move to 30-2 on the season, which keeps them fully on pace to equal Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls record of 72-10. Do not overlook the San Antonio Spurs though, who now sit at 28-6, and it not for the historic start of the Warriors, would be the talk of the league. Also, the Eastern Conference seems to be very much improved, as the top ten teams in the East are above .500, while only six teams in the West sit above the .500 mark. The names in the West may seem sexier than the names in the East, but at this point, as the calendar turns to 2016, the East seems like the more competitive conference, and it has been a very long time since that has happened in the NBA.
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