Character Matters. The Johnny Manziel Fiasco

In college Johnny Manziel was a superstar.

Cleveland baseball and football fans have had a pretty rough go of it during the past sixty years. The city's bad luck in baseball was so legendary that a book was written about it: Terry Pluto's The Curse of Rocky Colavito. Cleveland Browns fans haven't fared much better. In fact, the last bit of really good news for Browns fans was when owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore but allowed Cleveland to retain the Browns name and uniforms. 

Bill Bellicek was head coach at that time, with an outstanding record in the works when, mid-season, Modell announced the move. Things quickly unravelled and have never been the same.

One good thing about a losing record in the NFL is that you get top draft picks. The worst teams become first in line for the annual crop of college stars on the auction block.

In 2014 the Browns selected Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel to lead them back to becoming a contender. The kid had talent, they said. The moment he was drafted, however, it became apparent he was missing something. Flaunting his mega-millions contract, it seemed plain that this was not going to be the hero who would carry this team. It's truly a shame because the opportunity was right there in front of him. Instead, he derailed his career with a combination of poor decisions and personal issues. 

Here's a short list of reasons Johnny boy failed in Cleveland and was unable to get a gig with any other NFL team afterwards.

His off-field behavior was a constant issue. He faced legal troubles, including allegations of domestic violence, bar fights, and reckless driving. These incidents tarnished his reputation and led to disciplinary actions from the NFL and his team.

Substance abuse was another issue, primarily alcohol and partying, which negatively impacted his performance and behavior. His partying lifestyle was well-documented in the media, and it raised concerns about his commitment to football.

His lack of preparation was similarly indicative of his lack of commitment to Cleveland success. Leaders lead by example. Tom Brady's preparation for games was legendary. There were reports that Manziel did not put in the necessary effort to prepare for games and improve his skills as a quarterback. This lack of dedication and focus on his career hindered his development as a professional player.

By his inconsistent performance on the field it became apparent to all that he was in over his head at the pro level. Combined with the distractions of his personal life, legal issues and public disputes, it's easy to see why Manziel stumbled. Add to this his unwillingness to assume responsibility for his own behavior and you have the kind of player who becomes odious to fans. He disrespected his team mates as well as the Browns organization that had recruited him. After two years his NFL career was over. 

Such a shame.

Moral of the Story: Pride goes before a fall. 

Character counts. It doesn't matter how smart or talented you are, if you lack character you will very likely undermine your dreams of future success. 

Manziel photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

The Shifting Tides of Sports Journalism

Jane Leavy's book about Mickey Mantle is more than the story of a baseball hero. The Sports Illustrated journalist titled her story The Last Boy because sports journalism was moving into a new era. Up till Mantle, the innocence of our heroes was preserved because of the unwritten rule that journalists protect the privacy of person's of importance. They helped maintain the images that had been carefully crafted.

In the political sphere it's well-known that FDR's physical handicap (polio) was veiled in order to project his strength as a leader of the free world. JFK's womanizing was equally well-known yet concealed by the press. In the same way, sports heroes were designed to inspire us. Their foibles were not to be our concern. 

Leavy essentially states that at a certain moment in time a shift occurred. Up until then, if you revealed what you knew about a player, you were bad. You were slapped on the wrist and sent to your room without supper. Post-Mantle, in the new era of sports journalism, if you failed to reveal something you knew, you were punished. Writers were no longer permitted to conceal. It was their job to reveal.  

FAST FORWARD

More recently the tide has shifted in another direction altogether. According to the documentary Shadows of Liberty, journalists--and not just sports journalists--have been reigned in again. This time, it is not for the purpose of protecting the privacy of our heroes. Rather, it is for the purpose of not offending the corporate sponsors. They pay big bucks to fund not only the games and cover the massive salaries of the players as well as the media, from moguls to minions. 

Shadows examines the media monopoly by corporations and the challenges this presents with regard to truth and democracy. In other words, money controls the narratives we are being sold daily that we're expected to accept. According to this 2012 documentary, the pendulum has swung back the other way. Journalists are gagged or prevented from covering issues deemed too controversial. 

Though one reviewer on imdb.com stated that "it didn't age well," it does offer a pretty good background regarding how our current media malaise was birthed. Another reviewer wrote this:

We still talk a good game in this country, but the Reality is far harsher than most would care to admit. A great deal of what's wrong with the U.$. is thoroughly examined in SHADOWS OF LIBERTY; i.e., the manipulation of the Masses by The Media and those who control it. Nike's purchase of CBS's silence regarding sweatshops in Vietnam is just one of the dark deals this doc sheds light on; another is a case I don't recall even hearing about at the time: the possible accidental downing of a passenger plane (TWA 800) by the U.$. Navy. The circle-the-wagons efforts to bury the story are dragged kicking and screaming into the light- although nothing's been done about it to this day, as far as I can discern. SHADOWS OF LIBERTY doesn't stop there, but I'll leave it up to you to track it down and see it. In a company- uh, country- where politicians are bought and sold at their own version of a stock exchange, ALEC (the American Legislative Exchange Commission, or Politico$ For $ale, for short), I think that it's about time that Republicans and Democrats who accept bribes (from "lobbyists") should be forced to wear the logos of their True Employers on their clothes.

Whereas freedom of speech and freedom of the press are specifically underscored as essential rights in the Constitution, the reality is far different. 

"Every journalist who isn't asleep understands that corporate power has made it impossible for them to do the job that needs to be done."--Journalist Norman Solomon, "Institute for Public Accuracy" Founder 

Between 1998 and 2005, media corporations spent $400 billion on lobbying and political contributions. The executives of these media corporations undoubtedly expect something in return for all this cabbage. 

Round and round and round it goes. Where it stops, nobody knows.

Related Links

Ken Burns' Baseball and a Memory of Mick

He Who Controls the Narrative Controls the People

Shadows of Liberty  

Wag the Dog

Eliminating Oil Will Lead to Elimination of Countless Other Everyday Products

Nevada Bob at Woodstock. Love Bugs and other vehicles
are switching to battery power. Photo: Gary Firstenberg.

I've spent much of my adult life hearing news reports that we were going to run out of oil in ten years. Our dependence on oil goes far beyond the fuel we use for our cars, trucks, tractors and toys like snowmobiles, motorcycles and dirt bikes. Let's not forget airplanes, ships and boats, both outboard and inboard.

It's been about fifteen years since I last heard that prediction about running out of oil. Since then we've been told that we must stop using oil to save the planet.

By the time that day comes, one hopes that we will have found not only alternatives for power production but also alternative means of producing the thousands of products that are derivatives of oil. That's what this blog post is about.

* * * 

When crude oil is removed from the earth it gets sent to refineries where it becomes feedstock. This feedstock is used in petrochemical plants where it is turned into plastic to make a multitude of products. Solar panels, car bodies, eyeglasses, DVDs, children's toys, tires and hearts valves is just the start of a very long list.

Today's cars are laden with electronics, sensors, chips
and hoses. Tires and dashboards have crude oil roots.
The photo here is of my wife Susie, and her Soul.

Because they are non-conductive and heat resistant, petroleum-based products are used extensively in electronics. Speakers, smartphones, computers, television sets and flat panel TVs, radios, cameras and CD players are just a few of the items we're all accustomed to.

In the realm of textiles, we've nearly all become accustomed to acrylic, rayon, polyester, nylon and spandex as well as vegan leather. 

You'll find petroleum is used for making all sorts of sports equipment that we've grown accustomed to. I'm not sure what we will use in the future to replace petroleum as a resource to make basketballs, golf ball, football helmets, surfboards, skis, tennis rackets or fishing rods. (OK, we can use cane poles and come up with an alternative to the current form of fishing line.)

Personal care products is another big business today that will undergo change. I was unaware of how extensively oil was used in products like perfume, hair dye, hand lotion, toothpaste, soap, shaving cream, deodorant, toothbrushes, panty hose, combs, shampoo and contact lenses. Cosmetics like lipstick, makeup, foundation, eyeshadow, mascara and eyeliner are also in this category.

When it comes to modern medicine, there are hoards of medical devices that rely on petroleum. Likewise in the realm of pharmaceuticals. Hospital equipment like IV bags, aspirin, artificial limbs, dentures, hearing aids, and heart valves will need alternatives if we shut off the oil supply. 

A few years ago an older man came out to replace our well pump. As we talked I learned that he was on his second artificial heart. He said that his first was metal, and the splashing of the blood thru the heart was noisy and distracting. He was much relieved when the new heart was installed, undoubtedly with some plastic parts. (I did hear recently that a pig's heart was successfully transplanted into a human and not rejected, so maybe there will be an alternative in this area.)

Household products is another area where petroleum has been used extensively. Roofing materials, insulation, linoleum flooring, furniture, appliances, pillows, curtains, rugs are some larger items. Dishes, cups, non-stick pans and dish detergents frequently use oil in their creation.

* * * 

THE POINT IN ALL THIS is that the auto industry has been working on doing their part for more than 25 years. I saw a number of EVs in 1998 at an Environmental Expo in Anaheim. I'm just curious about all these other products derived from oil. If were to shut down oil altogether, would hypodermic needs have to be made of glass again? Will we have enough cotton and wool to clothe ourselves? Will there be no more PVC plumbing? What will we replace it with since lead is not safe?

We want to have wind turbines to generate electricity, but what are those enormous blades made out of? 

I think we need to manage our expectations regarding what is possible and what is necessary. 

Just sowing seeds. Something to think about.

* * * 

THE SOURCE FOR MUCH OF THIS BLOG POST CAN BE FOUND HERE:  www.capp.ca/oil/uses-for-oil/

Do Athletic Programs Help Fund the Arts?

Here’s an interesting story that ought to make people bonkers but seems not to have garnered the least nibble of broad media attention. Please correct me if I am wrong on this.

Students at Kent State University recently released the results of a study that revealed the manner in which student tuitions were being used and, specifically, how the university’s sports programs were being funded. Their research focused on colleges in Ohio, one of them being my alma mater, Ohio University.

Many of our college experiences remain vivid throughout our lives, in part because they are so new at the time and in part because in our youth there is less competition for real estate on that grey matter landscape between our ears. In my case, I well remember one specific incident that was singularly striking.

I was in my second year at O.U., living in the experimental coed dorm on the South Green. One of the fellows on my floor section had a friend on the Bobcat football team, a big guy who played guard and lived in the Convocation Center with the other football players. For the sake of this story we’ll call him Spacer, though his real name was far more interesting.

One evening while Spacer was visiting our dorm, primarily for the purpose of obtain something to inhale, I listened to him talk about his math class, for which he was getting several credits toward a degree. I discovered that he was learning things I’d learned in sixth grade, math problems which a halfway intelligent adult could probably figure out with no instruction whatsoever. The reason this made an impression was that I had, with considerable anguish, struggled through advanced calculus and differential equations while in high school and in order to go further in my studies on that lofty plateau I would have to take even higher math or receive no credits at all.

This seemed unfair on the face of it, but it gets worse. Our football program was a joke. I know for certain that one year we were pretty poor and if you go to Wikipedia you'll see that they avoid mentioning our record during the four years I attended. What I remember, again vividly, is that the cheerleading was so excessively vulgar that Sports Illustrated weighed in with measured shock and awe. This did article did contribute to my attending at least one game when I was in college. The students who went to these games knew how to rhyme some very colorful words.

So, on to my point. We have a weak math student who is starting guard for a college football team with a zero and ten (0-10) record, receiving a scholarship to play sports… and we never stopped to ask who’s footing the bill? Who pays for all these stadiums, sports programs and that zither-full of scholarships? I’d always been told—and believed it!—that the sports programs helped pay for every other facet of campus life, helped defray expenses for other students, maybe even raised money for new buildings. Is that what you thought? If so, you’d be wrong.

By means of a story titled Examining the University Bill, I discovered just how out of balance everything is getting these days. “Student journalists at Kent State University went after something they wouldn't have to if universities were more transparent in their billing, a breakdown of student fee charges. Why aren't universities providing line-item charges so students and parents can see where the money is going?”

And what did they learn? At my school, Ohio U, 81% of the athletic budget comes from student fees. That's quite a kick. To be fair to other schools, O.U. is the highest of the bunch that were willing to open their books.

The Kent State journalism students know well that numbers can lie so they sliced the information at a different angle to make sure we got the picture. What percentage of student fees go to fund the athletic programs? In other words, how is our tuition being used these days?

At Ohio University, 48 cents on every dollar goes to fund the athletic programs. Whether you went to school for literature, engineering or philosophy, half your tuition is being siphoned to make sure we have our sports programs.

To be fair, not all schools fund their athletic programs in this manner. And to be equally fair, this use of student fees likely contributed to the Bobcats starting their season with six wins in their first six games last year, nothing like anything I saw as a student. But then I didn't see much as I was usually elsewhere. And to be further fair, I am well aware that athletics programs can teach many good lessons that prepare one for life. Still, doesn't it seem like things are a tad out of balance?

We live in a country where arts programs are being cut to the bone because of their lack of perceived value, while it’s almost impossible to get a teaching job in some high schools unless you can also do double duty as a sports coach. You have a passion for teaching literature? You better know where the three-point line is located.Or the Red Zone.

Do athletic programs help fund the arts? Kudos to the kids who went digging for the details. It would appear the truth in some cases is the other way around.

Five Minutes with Cleveland Sports Journalist Terry Pluto

In the early nineties when AOL was king, before the real Internet stole us all away, every NFL football team had an AOL meeting-place for its fans. The most populated group of them all consisted of die-hard Cleveland Browns fans. Sadly, being a Browns fan these past forty years has been an exercise in futility. The only thing more painful than being a Browns fan is being a Cleveland Indians fan.

Nevertheless, even though Cleveland has left us little to cheer about in terms of championships, we have many great memories of great moments and, win or lose, we have some great sports journalists who continue to write with passion and earnestness. One of these is Terry Pluto, whom I first became aware of many years ago by seeing his name associated with The Amy Awards, in recognition of the best of Christian journalism.

But his awards don’t stop there, and I get the impression based on his output of 22 books or more that his writing is not going to stop anytime soon either. His book The Curse of Rocky Colavito was one of the most enjoyable and insightful sports stories I’ve ever read. This book should be mandatory for any living fan of the Tribe. I now understand what was behind the demise of the Indians that I witnessed in the early Sixties.*

On my current reading list, downloaded to my Kindle, is his exposition of the Browns’ more recent struggles, False Start. Perhaps what makes his writing zing is its pointedness backed by keen observation. You can tell he's well acquainted with his subject matter and has done his homework, or rather, legwork. For what it’s worth, whenever I want to check in on my Cleveland Browns, I look online for the Cleveland Plain Dealer columns of Terry Pluto.

Terry kindly accepted my request to be interviewed here about both writing and sports journalism.

Ennyman: You make a living as a sports journalist who has been continuously cranking out copy for 30 years. Have you ever had writer's block and how did you deal with it?
Terry Pluto: I hope it's a little better than "cranking out copy," or I wouldn't be around for 30 years. A big key is deciding what you want to say and how to say it... My job is to write, and it matches my passion. There always is something going on in sports if you are willing to look at high schools, small colleges, etc. Not just the pros.

E: Can I assume that you have been from Cleveland all your life? Describe briefly what it is like to be an Indians and a Browns fan the past forty years.
TP: I worked in Greensboro, Savannah and Baltimore when I was a young writer. I like sports, but love to write. My passion is finding good stories for fans who love sports... I prefer the teams to win because it's much more fun and makes for better stories but I never let the millionaires ruin my day when they lose or make a bad trade.

E: Why were Browns fans optimistic when owner Art Modell took the team to Baltimore?
TP: It seems like they became a start-up again. Most fans didn't understand the perils of expansion. I wrote a book about it, False Start.

E: What's been harder, being a Browns fan or an Indians fan and why?
TP: Browns fans are more passionate and have had far less success. The Tribe receives far less patience and harsher judgment from fans. Not sure why because the rules make it far easier for the Browns to be successful than the Tribe.

E: Which came first, being a writer or being a fan? If you had not been a sports journalist, what would you have been writing about these past many decades?
TP: I love to write, so I would have been writing something, somewhere. I do have a degree in secondary education, and spent much of my senior year teaching history at Lincoln-West. So I am a certified high school teacher, but I prefer to write.

E: You never saw Otto Graham play, a true great Browns quarterback. How would you compare Frank Ryan, Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar?
TP: Kosar was the most polished in terms of reading defenses and squeezing the most out of the offense. Sipe was very close. Ryan was an above average QB surrounded with tremendous talent.

E: How many years till we have a Browns team that can be competitive?
TP: If I knew that, I'd write it.

Terry, thank you.
To other readers here: You can find more about Terry Pluto and his writings at the following Internet places and spaces:

Terry Pluto: terrypluto.com
Facebook: facebook.com/terrypluto

Sports stories: cleveland.com/pluto/blog/
Faith stories: cleveland.com/pluto/faith

*When I attended the 1963 All Star Game in Cleveland, there were no home town players on the American League squad except pitcher Jim "Mudcat" Grant, who was no doubt selected as a token for the hometown fans. Pluto's book explains why this was so.

1964 ~ Welcome to New Jersey

I'd always told people that I moved to New Jersey when I was twelve. Technically, this was not true, however. My family moved to New Jersey in January, the 20th to be precise, and my birthday falls in September. So in actuality I moved to Jersey when I was eleven. That explains why I was able to play two years of Little League there.

Baseball was a big part of my life in those days. In Little League I was a pitcher/infielder, and above average with a bat. We played every day in Maple Heights, the suburb of Cleveland where I grew up. When spring rolls around the first thing you do is look for the pickup game in your neighborhood.

In Jersey, our temporary first home was a rental property on Highway 202-206 with no running hot water. We stayed there while the new split level suburban house was being built over the mountain, the first foothill of the Watchung range in Bridgewater. The kids in the neighborhood welcomed my brother and I to play ball with them, and we eagerly joined.

Something I did a lot was call out the score, announce the game as it was going along, how many outs there were, etc. It was a form of leadership, I'd like to believe, or maybe I was just a blabbermouth, always announcing what was going on as if it were a big deal. I think I just wanted everyone to be on the same page. But especially so when the inning ended and teams exchanged roles between being on and off the field.

On one occasion during one of those early games, the other team scored a run and I announced, "Five to two," to let everyone know that was their second run and we were no only ahead by three. Louis P, a tough kid who was a year older than I and captain of the other team, shouted back that the score was five to three, that they had three runs.

Naturally, being a little anal about accuracy in these matters, I objected and replied that the score was five to two. I proceeded to review in my mind the plays in which the two runs were knocked in, and began to lay this out before him as he was approaching. He walked up to me and grabbed my shoulders with rough hands. "It's five to three," he declared.

"No, it's only five to two," I said with conviction.

In a totally unexpected move, he kneed me in the groin. I was eleven and did what eleven year olds often do when a bully strikes them. I went crying home to my mother, hurting quite badly from the blow. I vividly remember sprinting across the field and up between the houses to my back door, serious tears streaming.

Running into the house, I told what happened. Mom came across very matter of fact in her response. In effect she said, "Do you like playing baseball? Well, those are the kids in the neighborhood that you have to get along with if you want to play ball."

And yes, I wanted to play ball. It was a little different kind of crowd from the kids in my old neighborhood in Maple Heights. But I found my place and learned a few lessons that would stand me well over the years. For example, if you are getting beat up, don't fall to the ground because they will also stomp on your head. And make sure you protect what your vulnerable spots.

In the bigger world there really are some different kinds of animals out there. Not everyone plays by the rules. You just have to be a little wary, and know what's important to you. Not everyone plays nice. On the other hand, that's no reason to quit.

Sports can bring all kinds of people together. And it can teach us many lessons. This week the Olympics have convened in Beijing. The opening ceremonies were a spectacle. There will be new records set, no doubt, and heartbreaking losses for many. Hopefully the scoring will be accurate and fair, and the world will be reminded of the important lesson these games are intended to teach: that as fellow creatures on a finite planet we must learn how to get along.

Favorite Street Football Pass Plays

In March my brothers and I re-visited the neighborhood where we grew up in New Jersey. In 1964 our family moved into a new housing development of three and four bedroom homes in Bridgewater. As we drove about the neighborhood, we were flooded with memories. Here’s the spot I jumped out of a moving car. There’s the pace in the woods where our fort used to be.

Significantly, it was a vibrant community with lots of kids of all ages. The isolation created by living in the ‘burbs is a common theme in books and movies, but during that Sixties era things were different in our neighborhood. There were kids in abundance, and grabbing a few for a pickup football game was a snap. For street football it only took five or six to get a pretty good game on.

I had a brother Ron, two years younger than I, who was always ready to play. Tom Browne lived next door in the house above, Kenny Koons in the house below. The McAvoys were a few houses up the road, and with that we were set. If there were five, I would be quarterback on both teams with no pass rush. Six, we’d play three on three. And there was nearly always room for one more.

The asphalt road made a perfect “field” for this setup. The brick curb provided a clear demarcation for what was out of bounds. The end zones could be from the telephone pole to the Koons’ driveway, or any other length that seemed suitable. It was touch football at its finest, involving psychology and finesse.

In retrospect, it was a great way to develop basic football skills. For quarterbacks, timing and accuracy are paramount. For receivers, developing good hands was the essential skill, as well as footwork and feints in the psychological game of beating the defense. Defenders learned how to read the offense and react. Playing street football on a daily basis enables you to practice, practice, practice. Besides, it was fun.

Generally we'd play three complete is a first down. Sometimes we'd go long just to keep the defenders honest, but it was pretty tough to defend against these short timing routes.

The illustration here shows a typical play that I might call. It begins with a crossing pattern which creates just enough confusion in the defenders to give the receiver an edge. The receiver begin straight along the curbs, and at about three steps out begin the cross. The right end is counting to five with the one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand, three-one-thousand cadence. At five the receiver breaks back toward the quarterback, with the ball already on its way. Almost impossible to defend against.

More football memories to come.

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