IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN!

Back in 1983, when I-formation tailbacks and option QBs still dominated the college football landscape, the folks at the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority decided it was time to get back into the college football business. Their first foray wasn’t all that impressive: a half-filled Giants Stadium hosted four eminently forgettable Garden State Bowls from 1978-81 that aired on the dearly-departed Mizlou Television Network.

But in August 1983, the Meadowlands crowd wised up, and instead of trying to attract fans with a Navy-Houston matchup, pitted Nebraska and Penn State against each other before a teeming throng of 71,000-plus fans (including a young El Hombre) on a sultry Monday night. The game itself was a bust: the Cornhuskers blasted JoePa’s crowd, 44-6, but a great tradition was born. Over the next 19 years, Giants Stadium hosted the first (or one of the two or three first, as the Pigskin Classic and other iterations emerged) football game of the year. And these weren’t Garden State Bowl-variety matchups. How about Alabama-Ohio State? Or Florida State-Texas A&M?

The 2018 college football season kicks off this weekend, and instead of a marquee matchup to get us excited about the year, we have Prairie View at Rice and Hawaii at Colorado State, among others, not exactly the kinds of games that could get tens of thousands of Jersey natives to leave “da shore” a couple days early.

But you know what? Who cares? College football is back, finally, after a six-plus month hiatus, during which the NCAA tournament, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup playoffs and Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest combined couldn’t match the utter wonder of the world’s greatest sport. You can bet El Hombre will be carving out some quality time Saturday to watch the Wyoming-New Mexico State showdown, with an icy Dr. Pepper nearby and a canyon-wide grin splitting open his melon. It’s back. It’s finally back!

Like just about every other sporting pursuit these days, the off-season hasn’t been without its drama, and in the case of University of Maryland redshirt freshman Jordan McNair, tragedy. In College Park, McNair died after succumbing to heat exhaustion during a workout, and it was later revealed by a news report that he wasn’t given proper care. As soon as the news broke, the university issued a maxima mea culpa, leading one to wonder whether president Wallace Loh would have ever stood in front of reporters in his ridiculous state-flag bow tie and accepted responsibility for his athletic department’s crashing failure, had the media not presented the football staff’s alleged poor behavior.

During his donning of the hair shirt, Loh forgot to mention that he and the Maryland Board of Trustees abdicated their power and opened the university to great risk by allowing the football program to operate as a standalone entity with no real checks from those charged with operating the school. The first mistake was hiring D.J. Durkin as head coach. Reports surfaced after McNair’s death that Durkin and his staff were particularly abusive, even by college football coaching standards, where the term “coaching them hard” often means, “demeaning and screaming”.

The bigger sin was not establishing an institutional culture in which the people who run the sausage factory have an idea how the links are made. The chances that Loh or a trustee attended practice even once, much less on a regular basis, are slim. So, if Durkin was berating players and denying them the opportunity to get proper care for injury or other conditions, the only people watching were athletic department personnel – if even they were permitted to attend.

It’s not like the media could have done anything about it, since institutions allow their coaches to close practices, as if national defense strategies are being concocted on the fields, rather than new hybrid pass coverages and play-action passes. It’s as if the people in charge want to remain blissfully ignorant. Worse, since student fees and other unearned revenues (i.e. school contributions) for athletic departments accounted for $10.3 billion at public schools over the last five years, it’s almost criminal that people who help fund the program don’t know what’s going on until the team runs out onto the field Saturday.

This isn’t just a Maryland problem. It’s an epidemic throughout the big-time football ranks. According to a recent Washington Post article by Sally Jenkins, it has been 17 years since an NFL player died during practice. During that time 27 collegians have paid the ultimate price during conditioning drills. Sure, there are more college programs than there are NFL teams. There are more players. But the score here is 27-0, and what matters is that no matter how competitive and tough the NFL is, its coaches aren’t interested in pushing their players to the absolute brink. When Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer died in 2001, things changed. Part of that was due to the NFLPA desire to preserve its members by limiting practice and workout opportunities. But the pro coaches lived by the rules. They may not have been happy, but nobody has expired since. There is no college union, so NCAA coaches do what they want.


College athletic departments operate according to their own rules. That makes information almost impossible to get for fans and media. But as the Maryland situation proved, the potential for trouble when programs and departments operate in clandestine ways goes way beyond just a lack of information. When Loh and his fellow presidents gain the, ahem, fortitude to take back their universities, tragedies like the one that befell Jordan McNair will be much more avoidable.

Now to the field. Here’s how the season will shake out:

Urban Renewal: Anybody who thinks Ohio State is going to fire Pope Urban VI needs to spend some time in the real world. He might miss the big tilt against Oregon State, but he will be back in all of his hypocritical, arrogant, condescending glory before long.

Something Bruin: Chip Kelly’s reign of catastrophe in Philadelphia ended with his firing, but now he’s back in the college ranks, where he can unleash his despotic ways without consequence and run the go-go offense that NFL defensive coordinators stuffed. Expect big fun, unless he commits more recruiting violations. Then, he’ll leave town but fast, like he did while at Oregon. Trouble is, the NFL doesn’t want him anymore. Hello, Saskatchewan?

Mr. Moneybags: There may not be another school in America that has spent as much on its football program as Texas A&M, and yet the Aggies haven’t won a conference title in 20 years and a national crown in 80. Enter Jimbonanza Fisher, who has a guaranteed, 10-year, $75 million contract in his pocket. He had better win, or the 12th Man crowd may turn him into dog chow for Reveille IX. After Tuesday’s revelations by former player Santino “Corleone” Marchiol’s allegations of recruiting violations, the NCAA may do it first.

Frost Warning: Nebraska may not be all that great this year, mostly because of its defense, but Nebraska alumnus Scott Frost, who led UCF to a 13-0 record last year and a “national title” that came complete with rings, a parade and magical unicorns, is back at his alma mater and is going to scare a bunch of Big Ten teams with his offense and recruiting ability. Looks like football will be fun again for Cornhuskers fans, who can stop praying to Bob Devaney any time now.

Reloading Process: You didn’t think El Hombre was going to leave Nick Saban out of this, did you? The Crimson Tide has its usual collection of five-star stud hosses, and a grand mal quarterback controversy. One of these years, ‘Bama is not going to be able to reload. This is not one of those years. Expect another playoff berth in Tuscaloosa – and almost a smile from Mr. Wonderful.

The Final Four: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Washington

The Final Two: Clemson and Washington

The Winner: Clemson

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EL HOMBRE SEZ: Majoke League Baseball alums are decrying the unbelievably boring season through which we are all suffering. It will be interesting to see if commissioner Rob Manfred tries to fix things. While everyone writes about OPS, launch angle, exit velo and defensive shifts, the sport is losing its soul. It is now the National Naptime and won’t become interesting again until passion replaces numbers…After spending the last several seasons confusing us about what a catch is, the NFL is now infuriating fans with ambiguity over tackling. The goal of the new rules is admirable (or at least something the insurance carriers like): an end to head-to-head collisions that lead to CTE. But as the league tries work out the particulars, routine plays are turning into 15-yard controversies. Here’s an idea: talk to the players about what should constitute a penalty. They may swing too far in the other direction, but at least they will provide an on-field perspective…Eldrick Woods has looked good this year on the PGA Tour, but it’s important to remember that he isn’t going to win any more majors. He’s well north of 40, playing with a fused spine – which he never hesitates to remind golf reporters and adoring TV interviewers – and can’t put together four great rounds. He’ll probably win an event some time in the next 12 months, but you can rule out the Big Ones…The MLS season is heating up, and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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THE WORLDWIDE DECEIVER: You have to love that espn jetted the Phillies and Mutts up to Williamsport to play a game in front of 2,500 fans, just so it could pimp its Little League World Series coverage. Even more amazing is that Majoke League Baseball was complicit in the promotional stunt. What’s next, an NBA playoff game held during the National Spelling Bee, with players’ names spelled phonetically on the backs of their uniforms? Don’t put it past the folks in Bristol.
In another example of how espn will try to mine every possible promotional vein, consider its all-platforms-on-deck coverage of the ridiculous Duke romp through Canada. Here’s what we learned: 1. J.T. Barrett and Zion Williamson can dunk. 2. Basketball in Canada is largely populated by short, white guys who play NBA All-Star Game level defense and are much more accomplished on frozen ponds than the hardwood. 3. espn has absolutely no shame. This had no news value whatsoever, and its only reason for existence was to kiss up to Coach K and his Durham Community College roster. It’s a wonder Jay Bilious wasn’t on hand to help pump up what is certain to be another underachieving season for the latest crop of one-and-dones, the type of team K used to ridicule with characteristic condescension. Next up: An all-access look as Nick Saban takes his ‘Bama team to Estonia for a scrimmage. Marty Smith reporting.

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YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? Anybody who says he thought the Phillies would be in contention to win the NL East at this point in the season is either lying or has spent way too much time in Colorado. So, we should all be happy that the team is playing meaningful baseball this late in August, although some of those games against the Mutts last weekend were a disgrace. But even if the Phils make the playoffs, they aren’t winning the World Series, and it’s up to GM Matt Klentanalytics to fortify the lineup with some real, MLB hitters. His decision to bring Carlos Santana aboard for $60 mil over three years, just because the beefy first baseman walks a lot, was ridiculous. It’s fitting espn made a big deal over Scott Kingery’s Little League career last Sunday, because sometimes he looks like he should be riding his bike to the game with his mitt over the handlebars. Looks like jumping the gun to give him a long-term deal wasn’t a real good idea. Then there are the dispatches from Planet Odubel, where the Phils’ centerfielder can no longer hit and seems to use the Magic 8 Ball to make his decisions during games. The lineup – which as of Monday was the next-to-worst in the league in terms of batting average – needs a substantial jolt if the team wants to compete for real, and since the Phils have the majors’ lowest payroll, they had better get ready to spend during the off-season.

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AND ANOTHER THING: It would be nice if those people who were so aggravated that some NFL players are kneeling or raising fists or staying in the locker room during the national anthem would at least learn what the players are protesting. Those knuckleheads who think it’s the anthem itself (or our troops) need to do a little reading. Don’t worry; it won’t be that much. The players are protesting injustice and violence toward minorities and are using the anthem as a forum. A reasonable debate can be held over whether the anthem is the right time to do it – although given the attention they have received, it would be tough to argue that their tactics are not gaining desired attention – but it’s not right for people to say they are against the anthem. And that means you, False Face. He, by the way, didn’t take his hat off during the anthem at a Dallas practice in late July, but he’s the biggest owner mouth in the fight against the players’ protest. There’s patriotism, and there’s jingoism. One is a powerful tool for a nation. The other is a contrived weapon that divides. Meanwhile, NFL commissioner Roger Goodfornothing has abdicated his leadership position and refuses to broker a solution that doesn’t create controversy. What a surprise.

-EH-