The Old Man and the Heels

A Hall of Fame coach, once revered, is struggling. He is 73 years old, trying to adapt to modern football amidst whispers that the game has passed him by. Finally, once it has become clear that the situation has reached its nadir, the coach and the team part ways.

That's what happened to Mack Brown at North Carolina. But that story is eerily similar to how Bill Belichick left New England. So when rumors started flying that Belichick was interested in taking over the head coaching job at North Carolina, I was immediately skeptical. After all, what sense did that make? Swap one over-the-hill coach for another? 

Yet here we are: Bill Belichick, with zero head-coaching experience at the college level, has signed on to lead North Carolina. Serving as head coach of a power conference program in the NIL-Transfer Portal Era is hard work. Just ask Nick Saban, the GOAT himself, how he felt about doing that job in his 70s. The job is so complex these days, that two head coaches - Chip Kelly and Gus Malzahn - both left their head-coaching jobs to become assistants instead.

There are some coaches who have found success at both the NCAA and NFL levels. Notable examples are Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh. But both had extensive experience in the college and pro ranks before becoming champions. (It's also worth noting that upon winning a National Championship last year at Michigan, Harbaugh bolted right back to the NFL.)

But back to Belichick. What, exactly, does he offer North Carolina RIGHT NOW? Belichick's Patriots went 29-38 over his last 4 seasons, losing in their only playoff appearance. Clearly, the NFL was no longer enamored with him. Next year's top high school recruits would have been 11 years old the last time Belichick won a Super Bowl. How much pull do you think a man not known for his charisma will have in those living rooms? Many coaches complain that with the portal, recruiting has become a year-round job, on top of all the other responsibilities a head coach shoulders. How much appetite do you think a 72-year-old man will have for that recruiting trail? 

One saving grace might be that North Carolina is not Alabama. A new coach who wins 9 games and flirts with a playoff appearance is a lost season in Tuscaloosa. In Chapel Hill, that's considered winning. But North Carolina administrators, fans and boosters are expecting a lot from their $50 million investment. What happens when the Tar Heels don't immediately succeed? Belichick's prickly personality and adversarial relationship with the media are well known. In his Super Bowl days, that could have been considered charming. Winning covers a multitude of sins. Terse answers and a curmudgeonly vibe don't go over as well when you're 6-6.

I don't have high hopes for the Belichick Experiment at North Carolina. Upon being introduced, Belichick spoke about how he wants to create a "pro program" at Carolina. "I would say through my experience, what we did in terms of training, developing players, running pro systems, pro techniques." Except the Tar Heel players are not pros. They are 19- and 20-year old kids, prone to head-scratching decisions and behavior. There are just too many ways for a coach to fail, even before he ever takes the field. Recruiting players, both in high school and via the portal, then constructing a coaching staff around those players. In a world of infinite possibilities, the genius of Bill Belichick just might translate into a college football powerhouse. My guess is that the number-crunchers at North Carolina will eventually need to figure out how much of Belichick's contract they're willing to eat before starting over, yet again.

Feeling Fever-ish

Caitlin Clark is the biggest star in women's athletics, and some would say, among the biggest stars in all of sports. Her games with the Iowa Hawkeyes became appointment television. With much fanfare, and deservedly so, Clark was the #1 pick taken in the WNBA Draft. And now her new team, the Indiana Fever, has started the season 0-4, while Clark has looked at times frustrated and floundering. It doesn't have to be this way.

To be fair, the Fever are not a very good team. You don't get the #1 pick in back-to-back drafts by winning a lot of games. But as a reward for their mediocrity, the Fever were able to select Clark and Aliyah Boston, last year's top draft pick. Clark, an electric shooting guard, and Boston, a back-to-the-basket type center, should be a dynamic combination. But that hasn't been the case so far.

First and foremost, Head Coach Christie Sides needs to do a better job setting up the Fever's offense. Let Boston set high picks for Clark, over and over. Since it's Clark who always draws the other teams' best defenders, she needs help getting open. A Boston screen either gets Clark a good look from deep, or gives Boston a free lane to the basket. Clark, who also led the country in assists at Iowa, is as good a passer as she is a shooter. I know there hasn't been much practice time since the season started, but creating the two-player game with Clark and Boston is essential for Indiana's success.

Sides, though, doesn't shoulder all the blame. I've seen time and again Fever players fail to even look for Clark, then drive to the basket or hoist up a tough shot. Last year's leading scorers -- Kelsey Mitchell and Nalyssa Smith -- have not only seen their scoring dip this season, but their shooting percentages have fallen, too. With Clark and Boston drawing so much attention, that shouldn't happen. Also, GET CLARK THE BALL. Yes, that would require the rest of the team to quash their egos, but as the saying goes, there's no I in Team.

It's still early. The WNBA season is only a couple of weeks old, as is Caitlin Clarks' professional career. She'll need time to adapt. And it's not easy, game after game, having to face the best defenders in the league (any one of whom is probably light year's better than the college players tasked to guard Clark at Iowa). But you don't set all-time NCAA records by not being really good, either. Clark is going to shine. I just hope the Fever figure out how to make it happen, soon.

The Bronx Bummers

Bill Parcells once famously said that you are what your record says you are. So while the Yankees talk constantly about their "championship caliber roster", their record very much says otherwise. Following another humiliating defeat at the hands of the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees sit in last place in the A.L. East and 5 games out of the final Wildcard slot.

Their record sits at 59-56, on a pace for a lowly 83 wins. Should that happen, it would be New York's lowest full-season win total since 1992. Optimistic fans would say that this team can turn it around, that the '23 Yanks haven't played their best baseball. But a deeper dive into the numbers is even more bleak. 

While the Yankees have played considerably better at home this season (.555 at Yankee Stadium, .461 on the road, pretty standard in MLB), they unfortunately play 29 of their final 47 games away from home. If the Yanks more or less match their season-long splits, the math says they'll go 23-24 the rest of the way. Add it all up, and the 2023 Yankees would finish 82-80.

That may sound terrible, and it is, but it's not surprising when you look at this team with an even longer lens. Over their last 200 games played, the Yankees are a pedestrian 100-100. They are what their record says they are.

Thank You for Your Service

With the announcement that Carmelo Anthony had retired from the NBA, many of his former teams and teammates offered well-wishes and congratulations on a Hall-of-Fame career. A prolific offensive force, Melo finished as the NBA's 9th all-time leading scorer.

Among the many accolades Anthony has received, is the repeated notion that the Knicks should retire his number. Please place me squarely in the opposite camp: as much as Anthony was the star attraction during his time in New York, the Knicks are under no obligation to hang his #7 jersey from the MSG rafters.

For one, the Knicks are not the Yankees. For the past decade or so, the main criteria for getting your number retired in the Bronx seems to be "He was a pretty popular player over the portion of his career that he played in New York."  (I'm looking at you, Paul O'Neill.) The Knicks have been far more discerning, having last retired a number in 2003 for a true franchise legend, Patrick Ewing.

There are several factors, for me, that work against Anthony. The Knicks didn't draft him, and Anthony was a Denver Nuggets star for nearly eight years before finagling a trade to the Knicks. In fact, only 7 of his 19 seasons were spent in a Knicks' uniform. By comparison, Earl "the Pearl" Monroe didn't enter the league as a Knick, but he spent the majority of his career in New York and retired in a Knicks' jersey.

Due to his relatively short time in orange-and-blue, Melo doesn't own any Knicks' career records. Anthony's 24.7 PPG is the third-best mark in franchise history, but he's only 7th on the Knicks' scoring list. He's 3rd all-time in 3-pointers made, but that's largely due to the era in which he played. Also, unlike a Ewing or Walt Frazier, Anthony's contributions were largely in the scoring column. 

Lastly, Anthony never won a championship in New York. In fact, Melo's teams only made the playoffs 3 times, and never advanced beyond the conference semis. This is probably less of a knock on Carmelo than the franchise itself, but for a one-dimensional, non-Knick-lifer, something needs to put you over the top for a jersey retirement ceremony. The stats from Mark Messier's time in Edmonton might dwarf his numbers with the Rangers, but no one will ever forget the 1994 champions. Messier is a Ranger for life.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Knicks held a Carmelo Anthony Night next season. He would certainly deserve the recognition for his time with the Knicks. But I'd be disappointed in Knicks' management (and ownership) if the night consisted of much more than a highlight reel, a plaque and a rousing ovation.

Fly the Frugal Skies

Economy-class Billionaire

Every so often, you come across a story that is both entirely meaningless and maddeningly stupid. News that the Yankees do not pay for in-flight Wi-Fi on the team's plane is one of those stories. 

On one hand, this was not an anonymous leak by a disgruntled player so I doubt anyone is really broken up about it. A bunch of multi-millionaires can certainly afford $9 per flight to post selfies on Instagram. 

On the other hand, SERIOUSLY YANKEES?

Reportedly, an in-flight Wi-Fi plan costs approximately $40,000 per year for the team. Let's put that cost into some ludicrous perspective:

• The Yankees' payroll in 2023 is expected to be $272 million
• $40,000 would add a bit more than 1/100 of 1% to that total (0.0147%)
• Forbes estimates the value of the Yankees franchise at $6 billion, with annual revenues of $482 million
• $40,000 is a bit less than 1/100 of 1% of that annual total (0.0083%)
• It would cost someone earning $100,000 the equivalent of $8.30 to pay for Wi-Fi annually
• A single season ticket on the Field MVP level (lower tier, wrapping around home plate) costs up to $18,079
• Aaron Judge's new contract pays him approximately $246,000 per game, or around $27,000 per inning

Remember, these are not casual flyers. Between all the road trips to the West coast and everywhere in between, the Yankees spend a lot of time in the air over the course of a season. It's not the end of the world, but not springing for Wi-Fi on the team's plane seems like an incredible oversight at best, and a really cheap move at worst. When viewed against their massive team revenues, it would almost literally cost them nothing.

Naturally, GM Brian Cashman had to chime in with the obviously true but still tone-deaf sentiment: "I think most of our players can afford it."

As Clear As Mud

Over the past few years, "Harbaugh to the NFL" has become as much a part of the college football post-season as Dr. Pepper. During the early stretch of Harbaugh's Michigan tenure, it was mostly about his failures. The typical Michigan fan, at that time, would have paid to help him move. But as Michigan's fortunes have improved -- back-to-back wins over Ohio State and spots in the College Football Playoffs -- so, too, have Harbaugh's NFL prospects improved.

After flirting with the Minnesota Vikings last year -- depending on who you talk to, it was either an interview he didn't get, or a nice conversation -- the rumor mill has started again. Harbaugh has been attached to the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers in recent days. Amidst all this swirl, though, one voice was absent. The one voice that could put to rest all the speculation.

On Wednesday, the Coach finally spoke:

“Although no one knows the future, I think I will be coaching Michigan next year.”

Thanks, Jim, that certainly settles matters. Or, read another way: "If no NFL team offers me a job, I will be back in Ann Arbor."

While this idle speculation is mostly fun and games for the media, it doesn't come without a cost. Harbaugh returning to Michigan is all well and good, but one group appears to be considerably less enthusiastic about the coach's constant waffling: top recruits. 

Nothing says "Come join our football program" quite like the constant rumors that the coach recruiting you will soon be working on Sundays instead. Is it a coincidence that coming off their best season in decades and another appearance in the CFP that Michigan's ranking for the 2023 Recruiting Class has plummeted to #17? 

For the 2023 class, not a single 5-star prospect decided to commit to the next 3 to 4 years under maybe? Coach Harbaugh. If the coach can't commit, how can you blame a recruit? You can bet Nick Saban is selling Nick Saban as much as he's selling Alabama. What is Harbaugh's answer in those living rooms when the "Are you going to the NFL" question inevitably arises? 

This is not to say that Harbaugh's equivocation is the sole reason for Michigan's recruiting struggles. In the immediate term, Michigan's haul of the 4th-ranked group of transfers will boost the 2023 team even more than some talented freshmen. But it would be nicer to have both.

Jim Harbaugh is gonna Jim Harbaugh, and that applies to any team that employs him. For years, it seemed like Michigan only got the nonsense part. Now they have the success, too. Unfortunately, it just seems harder to buy into the rah-rah-Michigan-Man act when his true desire seems to be a return to "the league where they play... for pay."

Everyone Wants an Uncle Steve

Image courtesy ESPN

Not a single pitch has been thrown in the 2023 baseball season, but that's not to say people aren't already keeping score. As impressive as the New York Mets have already been this off-season -- adding free agents Justin Verlander, Jose Quintana, Kodai Senga and David Robertson, plus re-signing Brandon Nimmo -- deep-pocketed owner Steve Cohen wasn't quite finished. The baseball world awoke this morning to the shocking news that Carlos Correa would add another $315 million to the Mets' league-leading payroll. The San Francisco Giants had hesitated too long, and Uncle Steve swooped in.

For as long as anyone can remember, or at least as long as George Steinbrenner had been throwing money around in the Bronx, fans have complained about the Yankees buying the pennant. (In recent years, though, no amount of Yankees' largesse has brought home a title.) It's ironic, then, that the Mets' fan base is so loudly cheering their own good fortune in the form of the fortunes of Steve Cohen. And the Mets are not making any apologies about spending whatever it takes to win.

While no roster is perfect, I can't recall a team in recent memory with such an abundance of top-level performers throughout:

• A starting rotation that features Max Scherzer, Verlander, Quintana, Senga and Carlos Carrasco
• A lineup of Correa, All-Stars Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Starling Marte, plus SS Francisco Lindor
• A bullpen with Reliever of the Year Edwin Diaz and newly-signed set-up man Robertson

As the cliché goes, the games aren't played on paper. The Mets, for all the star power they have amassed, haven't won anything yet. Even regular season success will not define the 2023 Mets, as this team is built to win the World Series, right now. (Just ask the Dodgers how they feel about winning 111 games in the regular season, only to fall in the NLDS.)

But since it's only December, the most "winning" team in baseball thus far makes its home in Flushing, Queens. Uncle Steve has made this a Christmas season to remember for Mets' fans everywhere.