Tony Jarboe has, somehow, made it through his first three years at Northwestern. His columns over the course of his first three years have been well received and will continue as he moves into his senior campaign. To read archived "Jabs" columns, just scroll down to "Jarboe's Jabs" (1, 2,3,4, 5 and 6). E-mail Tony at jarboes_jabs@yahoo.com.     

 

APPRECIATING DOMINANCE…7-8-10

            Normally I consider myself a pretty well-versed sports fan.  I can discuss baseball, football, and most college sports reasonably well.  I follow basketball a little bit and even try to keep up with hockey and NASCAR.  Yet when it comes to women’s college basketball, I’m stumped.

            The one think I do know?  The UCONN Huskies are good.  Really good.  They just tied an NCAA Division-I record by winning their 70^th game in a row.  One more win and they surpass the 2001-2003 UCONN squad for the longest streak in D-I history.  Yes, they have won 70 games in a row twice this decade.  Not too bad.

            And this streak isn’t thanks to a bunch of lucky bounces going their way or a string of buzzer-beating threes.  Think more Sherman ’s March to the Sea.  According to ESPN, during the streak the Lady Huskies have won by an average of 32.8 points.  Now, to be fair, UCONN does struggle more against top-ranked opponents.  Their margin of victory against Top-25 teams is only 26 points per game.

            Betting on a UCONN victory is like betting on the sunrise.  Barring some great cataclysmic event, it’s just going to happen.  The ladies of UCONN will almost certainly bring home another championship this year.  Last year they ripped through the NCAA tournament (average margin of victory: 25 points) and it will probably be worse this year.

            Normally I’m not a women’s basketball guy.  But the dominance UCONN has displayed this decade is a once-in-a-lifetime event.  Coach Geno Auriemma has won 85 percent of his games at UCONN, going 716-122.  That’s something most people can’t do in a video game (without cheating), never mind real life.

            So do yourself a favor and check out the UCONN women’s squad at least once during the NCAA Tournament.  All good things must come to an end, and eventually this streak will, too.  And when it goes away, it’s unlikely we’ll ever see anything like it again.
 

 

NO LONGER THE BIG THREE AND A HALF?...3-1-10

               For the longest time, people joked that American sports revolved around the “Big Three-and-a-half,” with baseball, football, and basketball representing the “Big Three” and hockey being the “half.”  That joke may be no more.

            Olympic hockey was the buzz around Northwestern’s campus, the blogosphere, and sports pages everywhere.  When was the last time hockey got this much buzz?  Probably never.

            I’ve been to a few hockey games and occasionally watch it on TV, but am at best a casual fan.  Before the Olympics I had never heard of US goalie Ryan Miller.  Now he is a household name because of his superb play throughout the tournament.

            While there were a few players coming out of nowhere (Brian Rafalski and Zach Parise were scoring machines for the US), the stars also came out and did their thing.  Sidney Crosby, Pavol Demitra, Dany Heatley, and Marian Hossa, all well-known in NHL circles, all performed strongly throughout the tournament.

            This is a late Christmas gift for NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.  People in the US are finally caring about hockey again, feeling a nationalistic surge after watching the surprising US team topple Canada once and come thisclose to doing it again and bringing home the gold.  Bettman and the NHL marketing department can now ride the wave of popularity and promote both the established stars (Crosby, Hossa), as well as the unexpected heroes of the tournament (Ryan Miller).

            I’m curious to see the reaction that guys like Rafalski, Parise, and Miller will get as they travel to opposing arenas.  I hope fans will at least acknowledge their strong Olympic performance by cheering for them during player introductions.  Then the fans can feel free to root for the home team to knock their heads off.

            Why was Olympic hockey so much more popular than the NHL?  One obvious reason is nationality.  During any international tournament there is always national pride on the line.  Thus it gives Americans a chance to come together and cheer with one voice, standing behind one team.

            Quality of play is another factor.  Because there were only 12 teams in the tournament, only the cream of the crop got a chance to showcase their skills.  Most rosters (especially Canada’s) included a number of All-Stars and several relatively well-known players.  When you tuned in, you knew you were in store for a treat.

            Length is another thing the Olympic tournament has going for it.  The tournament was over in two weeks, which is long enough to hold peoples’ attention.  The NHL season, by contrast, seems to drag on and on.  Plus, after the initial seeding was set, the tournament became single elimination.  In that style of play, anything can happen.  The fans eat this action up because David can take down Goliath anytime anywhere.  Look no further than the NCAA tournament.

            So hockey can be popular in the United States.  However, it needs to remember that less is more.  The current size of 30 teams is difficult to support.  Hockey is more of a niche sport in the United States and can’t be treated as mainstream.  Contraction seems inevitable if hockey is to become popular in the United States.  This way the remaining teams will have a better pool of talent to draw from, making the games more compelling for fans to watch.  Further, both the regular season and playoffs need to be shortened.  Sixteen of the thirty NHL squads make the playoffs.  While I am normally a proponent of a more exclusive playoff club, I think the NHL needs to go the other way: everybody gets in.  Use the regular season to determine seedings (similar to the Olympic format) and then play a single-elimination tournament style to determine the champion.  This will get fans from every NHL city into the action and provide thrills and chills of under-dog upsets normally reserved for the NCAA Tournament.  I realize this is a radical idea and probably not one the NHL would seriously consider.  But it’s a proven format for drawing fans, and one that a sport struggling for ratings should think about.  To answer my original question, no, hockey has not graduated to one of the “Big Four”, but if marketed properly it can become an extremely popular niche sport in the north, similar to the following NASCAR has in the south.

 

 

 

RUSHIN' THE COURT...2-14-10
Last week the University of Illinois took down the then-#5 Michigan State Spartans. After the victory, Illini fans rushed the court to celebrate. ESPN analyst Dick Vitale was critical of the Orange Krush, saying the risk of injury was too great and that people should celebrate from their seats.
Similarly, the University of South Carolina was fined $25,000 by the Southeastern Conference for allowing fans to rush the court following their victory against top-ranked Kentucky. SEC commissioner Mike Slive said, "The security and protection of our student athletes, coaches, officials, and fans is our primary concern."
I understand the safety concern. To an on-looker, a court-rushing looks like a mosh pit, just begging for someone to get trampled.
However, as a veteran court-rusher myself (ok, I’ve done it once in my life) I have seen that there really is little injury risk involved. Even in jubilation the fans are considerate to one another. There isn’t a bunch of pushing and shoving (at least at the court rushing at Northwestern) and I could only find one instance where a fan was injured during a court-rushing celebration (Erica Tuff at Syracuse in 2003). I’m sure there have been a few more injuries, but it is a very rare occurrence.
Fans take court-rushing seriously. I have never seen an instance where fans rush the court in a victory that I did not think was rush-worthy. It is a tradition that should be reserved for only the most impressive victories (never more than twice in a four-year period). But it should absolutely be allowed.
It is a fantastic "only-in-college" experience that you will never have again. It gives you an opportunity to bond with your fellow fans and the players who made that victory happen. And you will remember that win for many years to come.
So to Mr. Vitale, Mr. Slive, and anyone else who thinks rushing the court is too dangerous: Your concerns are understandable. However, the fans act in a responsible manner and minimize the injury risk. Please give these fans an opportunity to celebrate a monumental win with their fellow fans and players. They will likely never have such an opportunity again.

 

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE…2-7-10
Economists occasionally refer to Kondratiev waves, the economic cycles that occur every fifty years or so, consisting of alternating periods of high growth and slow growth. In college we experience similar cycles, just smaller. Every four years there is a 100-percent (or near 100-percent) turnover of the student population, so every four years the cycle begins anew.
As a freshman at Northwestern I would routinely receive help from upper-classmen on assignments. Charged with going out and interviewing sources, I would have difficulty convincing anyone to talk with me. In those situations, I usually managed to find a junior or senior Journalism Major kind enough to let me interview them, because they remembered their younger years.
And so continues the circle of life at Northwestern. Last week, a freshman, Stephanie, asked me to go on camera and be interviewed for her project. Remembering my early years, I agreed to help this poor girl out. After all, it would only take a few minutes and would help her out immensely.
Stephanie’s assignment was about the cold weather and how people were dealing with it. This was the kind of story I hated to do. It was cold, so no one wanted to talk to you, and people rarely said anything insightful about the weather. I tried to be interesting, but there are only so many ways to say, “It’s cold. This sucks.” Still, interesting or not, I played my part in the cycle, helping aspiring journalists, just as I was helped and just as someday Stephanie will help others.
This the sort of help isn’t limited to the journalism field. The older, experienced vets help out the young pups, who are willing and eager to learn. As those young pups become old dogs, they in turn help out the rookies, training and mentoring them. It’s the way knowledge and industry secrets are passed from generation to generation.
While I might not exactly be a “seasoned veteran” in the journalism industry, I have been around Northwestern long enough to be able to assist the freshmen through their early years of journalism classes. It leaves me with a warm, fuzzy feeling, knowing that I was able to assist someone the way someone helped me many years ago (ok, three years ago). Helping aspiring journalists at Northwestern is part of the circle of life. The self-perpetuating cycle (both in journalism and in other industries) of assisting the young helps ensure trade tips and tricks are not lost and the industry as a whole continues to thrive.

 

 

 

UNEXPECTED SUCCESS…1-25-10
From an early age, I was always told to expect success.  I was told to think positively and to plan for the future with the assumption that I would be successful.  Apparently Northwestern’s Athletic Department never got the memo.

To be fair, it’s easy to expect failure when you’ve been mediocre (or worse) for so long.  An 846-1346-1 (.386 winning percentage) all-time record does not inspire confidence.  That’s why Northwestern is so utterly unprepared for its recent run of success.

During my first two years here, Northwestern basketball was not just bad, it was awful.  The crowds reflected it.  Usually the student section was a little over half full, and we rarely had more fans than the opposing team did; even Cornell outdrew us.  However, I enjoyed it.  Going to the games was a breeze.  The shuttles to the game were nearly empty, and I had my choice of seats at the games.  Plus, Northwestern ran plenty of promotions just to put some butts in the seat.  I got lots of free things just for showing up. No longer.  At 14-5, the ‘Cats have had no problems attracting fans, and that’s become a problem.  The student section holds only a few hundred fans.  I haven’t had a good seat yet this year.  I’m always forced to the back of the stadium because so many fans are packed into the student section.  The entire arena holds just over 8,000 fans, by far the smallest in the conference.  For years, that was adequate.  No longer.

Traffic is also a problem now.  The parking lot only has a few entrances, meaning all the traffic is funneled into a very small area.  Yes, all sporting events have problems with traffic.  But Northwestern is especially ill equipped to handle even smaller crowds because of the limited parking.

Northwestern also needs to run more shuttles, both before and after games.  The shuttle makes several stops en route to the stadium, and by the last few stops, the shuttles are often too packed for anyone else to get on.  Yes, the people waiting will eventually get to the stadium, but often they are left for an empty shuttle to come. waiting for a long time

After games is even worse.  Unless you dash out the doors as the clock hits zero, you are in trouble.  Northwestern only runs four shuttles, holding 50 or 60 passengers each.  Students get stuck out in the cold for 45 minutes or more waiting for the shuttles to come back.

Northwestern University needs to make games more fan friendly, especially for students.   Northwestern needs to install more near the stadium, so cars can get in more quickly, easing traffic problems.  They also need to run more shuttles so students don’t have to wait out in the cold nearly as long.  Dealing with the cold when you have no other choice is one thing.,  but how much are you willing to suffer in order to go to a game?  If Northwestern expects to continue to do well, they need a larger stadium as well.  8,000 fans simply isn’t enough for a team from a major conference.  Certainly it’s unreasonable to expect Northwestern to fill a 16,000-seat stadium, but an extra one or two thousand fans is reasonable.  The student section especially needs to be expanded.   parking lots

 

AN EXTRA-JUICY BIG MAC…1-17-10
            Where were you at 8:18 PM (CST) on September 18, 1998?  That was the moment that Mark McGwire swung his mighty bat and for the 62^nd time that season he hit a ball that didn’t stop until it disappeared beyond the outfield wall.  The stadium erupted, the city of St. Louis celebrated and I, a ten-year-old boy, stood up and cheered, fists raised triumphantly.  He had done it!  Mark McGwire held the single season home run record!

            That moment, and that entire summer, has now been tainted.  Big Mac admitted to taking steroids this week, although this came as no surprise to most.  Both he and fellow Maris chaser Sammy Sosa have long been suspected of juicing.  Even so, it was a relief to hear McGwire finally come out and admit the truth.  

            Following the 1994 players’ strike, fans left baseball in droves.  Many people were brought back to baseball in 1998, enthralled by the chase.  I had enjoyed baseball previously, but that summer my relationship with the National Pastime evolved into something more.  It was true love.

            And why wouldn’t it be?  After all, the men chasing the record were Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.  One a member of my beloved St. Louis Cardinals, the other was on the hated rival Chicago Cubs.  To boot, McGwire was one of the truly nice guys in baseball.  He did a lot of charity work, said all the right things, and seemed to embrace his job as a role model for youngsters like me.

            We now know that that magical summer was aided by steroids.  McGwire admitted to being on the juice and Sosa is widely suspected of it.  And yet, even though this is what drew me into baseball, I’m not upset.  

            For better or worse, steroids were part of the game in the 1990s.  McGwire was one of many players that took them during that era.  Does that make it right?  No.  But we need a better way of dealing with the 1990s rather than just banning everyone than a universal ban on anyone suspected of juicing.  Sports writers are arguing that anyone on steroids should be kept out of the Hall of Fame and their statistics should be stricken from the record books.

            McGwire was still one of the best players of the era.  Just as batting averages from the late 1920s and early 1930s are viewed with skepticism, so too should home runs from the 1990s be looked at critically.  There have been offensive ebbs and flows throughout the history of baseball.  You just have to take those numbers in the proper context.  31 home runs was more impressive in 1981 (Mike Schmidt led all of baseball with that total) than in 2001 (Bob Abreu, Cliff Floyd, Magglio Ordonez, and Miguel Tejada tied for 36