Via Unsportsmanlike

By Michael Bennett

Led by a rookie quarterback and cries of Chuckstrong!, the Colts' march to the playoffs seemed at times like a plot straight out of Hollywood. The first in a series on our contributors favorite moments of 2012.

The sporting world gave us several memorable storylines in 2012. Thinking back, though, many of those were laced with tragedy. We witnessed the horrors violence and suicide, chronicled the inevitable downfall of this generation's most famous cyclist, and collectively shamed Penn State for one of the most jarring cover-ups in sports. I was all but finished with an essay on how our love of professional sports has led to corruption and disgrace; how sports are no longer about triumph and attrition, but rather contracts, lockouts, and egos. 

Then I saw footage of the Indianapolis Colts’ players and coaches dancing around the locker room, and decided not to give up all hope. The Colts’ season has enough heartwarming storylines to remind me of all the good things that still remain.

We all know the plot by now: The Colts finished the 2011 season with only two wins and decided, understandably yet controversially, to rebuild by drafting quarterback Andrew Luck. That led them to release Peyton Manning, the franchise quarterback and future Hall of Famer. Luck officially took the helm, facing the inordinate task of replacing one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. More importantly, he had to do so with a team coming off its worst season since 1991.

Soon, Luck and the Colts faced yet another hurdle. Head coach Chuck Pagano in September announced that he had Leukemia, and would step away from the team. It could have been just another excuse for the Colts to drift through the season, resigned to the belief that a full turnaround was impossible with a rookie signal caller and no head coach.

Instead, the Colts and interim head coach Bruce Arians used Pagano's diagnosis as motivation. Players and cheerleaders shaved their heads. Game balls were dedicated to his recovery. And as the Colts reeled off win after win, Pagano experienced a revival of his own. After three months of treatment, his cancer went into remission. He returned to the field to coach the final two games of the regular season, long enough win the year's 10th and 11th games and dance a happy playoff dance with his team.

As a Steelers fan, I was happy to see Bruce Arians gone from his spot as Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator. He just wasn’t quite the right fit for the Black and Gold. It turns out that he belonged elsewhere in the best of ways. His success is one of the many storylines of courageous triumph for this Colts team.

Perhaps we find the most genuine source of motivation in the darkest of times. In a year full of depressing sports memories, the Colts took what could have been a final blow to their season and instead transformed it into a message of hope for the sporting world. Chuck Pagano, Bruce Arians, Andrew Luck and company reminded us that unity and dedication can prevail over life's difficulties. All it took was a locker room dance to remind me that the uplifting storylines of sports can be just as telling as the corruption and cover-ups. We can all learn from the Colts’ remarkable season, and do our own little locker room dance to celebrate.

Michael Bennett is a contributor to Began in '96 and writes on hip-hop and culture at Poetic Justice.

Read more »

By Adam Cancryn

Quick, cover your ears! The NFL's anonymous sources are peddling their misinformation again, and the suckers are lining up around the block.

If you haven't already, you can now feel free to tune out the NFL draft chatter until the big day arrives. 

Get up, stretch, move around the cabin. Don't worry, you won't miss a thing. Know how I know? Because the annual period of petty mudslinging has started. This year, the target is Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, who an unnamed scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Bob McGinn has a "bit of a selfish streak" and "doesn't treat anybody good."

In a vacuum, this might be a nice scoop for McGinn, who is widely acknowledged as one of the deepest-sourced NFL reporters out there. But then again, there's all this pesky context: Scores of reports and accounts to the contrary, lauding Griffin as a model student, well-liked teammate and all-around good guy. After months of charming the pants off of even the most skeptical among us, what are the odds that one unnamed scout is the only one who knows of Griffin's evil alter ego? 

Just as damning is the timing. You didn't hear a bad word about him during all that jostling for the No. 2 pick. But now, suddenly and surely not at all related to the fact that the Redskins won the bidding war and the Colts decided on Andrew Luck, teams are leaping off the Griffin bandwagon just miles from their final destination. 

And then there's this. As Deadspin notes and anyone in a relationship-based industry can attest, access goes both ways. McGinn is well-connected, sure, but for a price. It's difficult to get all that inside information without becoming your sources' public mouthpiece every once in a while.

The info comes via Bob McGinn, who's universally respected and may have more sources than any beat writer in the nation. But a part of that is his willingness to print just about whatever he's told, even if the source has an agenda. (It was McGinn who reported Terrelle Pryor's low Wonderlic score last year, and insinuated the Vikings were tampering with Brett Favre in 2008.)

Taking that background into consideration, the thinly sourced report on Griffin makes the scout look vindictive and the reporter look unprofessional at worst and gullible at best.

Now, while the rest of you are busy putting on your NFL-canceling headphones, a quick pep talk for the media types:

We get it. A reporter's job is to dig up news, and in sports especially, no information is too small or inconsequential not to throw out there. There's constant pressure to be the first with everything, and in the minute-by-minute news cycle, this bit of RGIII troll-bait might look juicy. But there has to be some room left for judgment, some small part of your reporting process that involves stepping back, taking in the bigger picture and realizing that this is the time of year that your sources start playing you. And by cooperating, you in turn play your readers.

Reporting is only part of the job. Arguably the more important part is deciding what not to report. This RGIII nonsense falls into the latter category. (And don't even get me started on Albert Breer's me-too act. At least save it for when you get beat on some real news.) It's true that your readers will never applaud you for exercising restraint and deciding against publishing. But in the long run, sacrificing a morsel to avoid becoming your source's puppet is a major step toward preserving credibility.

Of course, in some cases these anonymous "concerns" about players are legitimate. Surely there were character issues with Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell and countless others that went ignored. If that's the case, though, the vague sourcing that runs rampant through the sports pages isn't enough. Reporters can't just cite an "executive" or a "scout." They have to give readers reason to believe that that particular "executive" or "scout" has some special insight. In this case, even identifying the source as a "scout for a team that considered trading up to take Griffin" would allow us to consider that scout's potential biases and motivations.

Everyone, from the bitter teams spreading the misinformation to the reporters that have to sift through it to the consumers that read it, hates this period. It's a free for all, and no one can trust anyone. So let's put a stop to it right now. Take a step back. Ignore the prejudiced tidbits. Insist on something more than blanket anonymity. And readers, do yourself a favor and ignore it all. Agreed? Yes? Good. The NHL playoffs are as intense as ever, the NBA is roaring down the stretch and baseball is in full swing. It's a beautiful time of year. Set your alarm for 8 p.m. on April 26, then leave the NFL behind and go out and play. The big day will be here soon enough.

Adam Cancryn is an editor and co-founder of Began in '96. He hopes he won't lose his precious access to Bob McGinn because of this column.

Read more »

By Adam Cancryn

Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is the consensus No. 1 draft pick, and Robert Griffin III's ascension shouldn't change that.

Now that Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III are both turning pro, let the games begin.

The second-guessing games.

Luck has been the consensus No. 1 NFL draft pick for two years now. Over that period, he's resurrected the Stanford football program, twice finished second in Heisman voting, inspired a "Suck for Luck" campaign and drawn comparisons to Peyton Manning and Drew Brees.

In November 2010, CBSSports' Rob Rang called Luck the "best quarterback and elite prospect" he's ever scouted, and the overwhelming opinion is that the 6'4" Washington, D.C. native is as sure a thing as you can find coming out of college.

But inevitably, doubts will arise at some point between the end of the NFL season and the draft. Scouts, TV analysts and team front offices will entertain those pesky insecurities that go along with any big investment. Is Luck really that good? Have we hyped him up too much? Is his arm strength/accuracy/mobility what we thought it is?

And what about Robert Griffin III?

Let's do everyone a favor and nip this all in the bud right now. Andrew Luck is the best player in the draft, period. Every snap he's taken over the past two years has been scrutinized and dissected by thousands of experts, and those experts have consistently come to the same conclusion. Luck was the best in 2010, he was the best in 2011 and the few months leading up to the draft aren't going to change that in 2012.

Griffin isn't going to change that either. He's an intriguing athletic specimen, a track star with a strong arm and a knack for making big plays. He's also led a resurrection, turning Baylor from patsy to powerhouse. Considering the success the similarly skilled Cam Newton had in his rookie year with the Panthers, it's tempting to project that same fate onto Griffin.

Yet as exciting and flashy as Griffin might be, he is also erratic and raw; the classic high risk/high reward prospect. Luck, meanwhile, is polished and experienced and unquestionably talented, and therefore also very boring.

The No. 1 pick is made for those boring sure things, though. It's one of the largest, rarest investments a team will make, and for that reason it has to pay off. So when the Indianapolis Colts are put on the clock this April, they must drown out the doubts, go with their gut and make Andrew Luck their next franchise quarterback.


The Week Ahead (all times EST)- Your guide to what to watch-- and what to watch for-- this coming week


College Basketball
Baylor at Kansas- Jan. 16 at 9:30 (ESPN)
Michigan St. at Michigan- Jan. 17 at 7 (ESPN)
Georgetown at Rutgers- Jan. 21 at noon
Virginia Tech at UVa.- Jan. 22 at 6 (ESPNU)
NBA
Lakers at Heat- Jan. 19 at 8 (TNT)
Timberwolves at Clippers- Jan. 20 at 10:30 (ESPN)
NHL
Bruins at Devils- Jan. 19 at 7 (NESN/MSG+)
Penguins at Rangers- Jan. 19 at 7 (FOX PITT/MSG)
Rangers at Bruins- Jan. 21 at 1 (MSG/NESN/NHLNET)
NFL Playoffs
Ravens at Patriots- Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. (CBS)
Giants at 49ers- Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. (FOX)
Santana's comeback
Keep an eye on New York Mets' ace John Santana's recovery. The pitcher missed all of the 2011 season, and is eyeing an Opening Day return after throwing on flat ground last week.
Going Pro
Expect more college players to declare for the NFL draft. Baylor's Robert Griffin III, Oregon's LaMichael James and Alabama's Trent Richardson made it official last week, among others.


In the Kitchen- Tracking the major hot stove stories 

• Highly coveted Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes has at least six teams chasing after him. The 26-year-old free agent outfielder has drawn interest from the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. Miami, which has been active throughout the offseason, has said it will be "aggressive right to the point of stupidity" when it comes to Cespedes. 
• It's looking like the rich might get even richer down in Texas, where the Rangers have had preliminary meetings with Prince Fielder. The former Brewers slugger has also been connected to the Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals, but it's believed they're not willing to shell out the kind of money that Fielder wants. Though the Rangers are currently negotiating with Japanese import Yu Darvish, should that deal fall through-- or if they have the resources to go after both-- Fielder would top their wish list.
• The New York Yankees are stockpiling arms again, trading for Mariners hotshot Michael Pineda and signing Hiroki Kuroda. Outside of CC Sabathia, the Yanks haven't had great luck acquiring pitchers-- see Burnett, A.J.-- but Pineda and Kuroda represent different kinds of bets. Pineda is just 22, and under team control for the next five years, giving them plenty of time to get value before having to pay him big money. They had to give up star prospect Jesus Montero to get him, but given the Yankees' offensive firepower and their bandbox of a stadium, great pitchers are more valuable than great hitters. Kuroda, meanwhile, is 36 but was signed for just one year. It's a low risk/high reward deal that won't put New York in a financial hole. 
• Dmitri Young hasn't played in the MLB since 2008, but he's testing the waters for a comeback. The slimmed-down Young is shopping himself as a cheap gamble that could be a solid bat off the bench or even at first base. 
• The Boston Red Sox have invited longtime catcher and captain Jason Varitek to training camp, but the loyalty ends there. He'd be a non-roster player, giving him just a slim chance of actually making the team, as Boston already has two catchers. Though Varitek's offensive output has diminished, the Sox were 42-22 last year when he started, as opposed to 48-50 when Jared Saltalamacchia was behind the dish. Varitek will likely either take this invite or retire.

Web Gems- The week's best, worst or strangest Internet sports finds

From the SI vault, President Richard Nixon compares hands with then Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshow in 1970.

Did this man really cut Michael Jordan?- Thomas Lake's magnificent investigation into the story that Michael Jordan was cut in high school, and the divergent paths Jordan and his coach took in the following years.

Coming Up- What's next at Began in '96

• Later today: The Began in '96 staff makes their sports predictions for 2012
• Tuesday: Greg Mathews breaks down Prince Fielder's ongoing free agent saga.
• Wednesday: The story of the upstart UVa. men's basketball team, and the 67-year-old undergrad following them every step of the way, by Adam Cancryn.
• Thursday: Joe Schackman warns that history tells us not to expect too much from Andrew Luck too soon.
• Friday: Adam Cancryn wonders how ESPN will fill the news hole left by Tim Tebow's playoff exit.

Read more »