The Yang Slinger: Vol. XXIV

The triumphant return to this space, all sorts of thoughts on the Deion Sanders story and words of wisdom from a gambling guru.

I’m back.

(crickets)

I’m back!!!!

(crickets)

I’M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dammit, I’m back to the ol’ Substack. And 99.9 percent of the world surely couldn’t care less¹ But I care. And for people who enjoyed the first 23 editions of this free journalism-based house of horrors—well, I apologize for the vanishing act. There was a book to wrap, then promote. There was another book deal to chase. There was a TV show to produce (OK, I’m a P.I.N.O.² But still). Life got busy. So I skipped out.

But now (really) I’m back and itching to write.

Let’s get to it …

This week, I’d like to delve into my favorite/least-favorite recent subject: Deion Sanders, the University of Colorado’s new football coach. Or, to be more precise, the coverage of Deion Sanders becoming the University of Colorado’s new football coach. Which has been legitimately riveting.

So, a quick background paragraph or two: Deion Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer who goes down as one of the best defensive backs in history, was an NFL Network broadcaster/commentator until three years ago, when he shocked the sporting universe and left to become the head coach at Jackson State, an HBCU that had fallen upon some serious hard times since the heydays of Walter Payton and Robert Brazile. If you need proof, here’s the recent data …

In short, the Tigers sucked. And worse than that, they sucked before empty seats and a largely indifferent student body. The program was limping along when—out of nowhere—Deion Sanders took over. He said he was sent by God. Literally—He. Said. He. Was. Sent. By. God. Which didn’t receive the warranted coverage, or at least the requisite introductory press conference follow-up question, “Why would God make sure you’re coaching Jackson State and also kill off 2,996 people on Sept. 11?”

I digress.

Sanders came to Jackson State because his heavenly father/creator of all that exists wanted him there. And, more than that, his heavenly father/creator of all that exists wanted him to direct young Black men toward a neglected HBCU. He uttered some variation of that I-live-for-HBCUs sentiment a solid 1,000 times over the past three years, and punctuated it recently on a 60 Minutes appearance with my ol’ pal Jon Wertheim …

And, by Moses, I was in. Truly, I was. Back about a decade ago I authored a book, “Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton,” which took me to the campus of Jackson State. And everything about the place grabbed my heart. It’s the ultimate underdog university—sparsely funded, Black, embedded within a poor city in a poor state, ignored by Mississippi’s 99.99999-percent white, Republican power structure. Jackson State boasted a rich history and a heartbreaking present, and Sanders’ arrival meant attention, meant fundraising, meant … success.

Lots.

And lots.

And lots.

Of success.

It’s no exaggeration to say Sanders pulled off a football miracle, drawing some of America’s top recruits (in fact, literally America’s top recruit) to an FCS school, then guiding the Tigers to back-to-back SWAC titles and, this season, a 12-0 mark heading into next weekend’s Cricket Celebration Bowl against North Carolina Central. It’s been the best story in college sports—a wealthy football icon setting aside personal fortune to help where help was most needed.

I loved it.

You loved it.

We all loved it.

And then (poof) he took the poop-stained Colorado job.

Now, to be 100-percent clear, Sanders has every right to do whatever he wants in life. He can coach Colorado, he can change his name to Adolph Rupp, he can eat sardines and fart out the oils to the tune of James Taylor’s “Who Comes This Night.” Seriously—whatever he wants. But when a high-profile college football coach says God brought him to an HBCU (again—I’m not exaggerating. He said God brought him there) because HBCUs need love and attention and rejuvenation, and then he leaves for not merely a shitty Division I program, but a shitty Division I program with a student body that’s but 2.7 percent African American (you know you’re in trouble when you’re the subject of an article headlined, WHY IS THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER SO WHITE?) … well, questions must be asked.

And I’m not so sure they have been.

•••

Sean Keeler of the Denver Post is one of America’s best sports columnists.

I really mean that. We actually came up together in Nashville back in the mid-1990s, and I’ve long loved his writing. So when Sean puts down words, I try and read them. Here are his last bunch of columns (since Sanders’ hiring) for the Post …

Now, to be clear, I don’t blame Sean for his approach. He’s writing for a specific newspaper audience, and in Colorado the arrival of Prime Time is a huge fucking deal. The Buffaloes haven’t had a winning record since 2016, and are coming off a brutal 1-11 campaign. But … I’m sorta shocked by the local media’s overall coverage, which can be summed up with HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! THIS IS SO AMAZING! I CAN’T BELIEVE DEION SANDERS IS COMING HERE! YES! YES! YES! YES! PRAISE JESUS! THERE’S NO REASON TO BE SKEPTICAL BECAUSE THE BUFFALOES MATTER AGAIN! THEY MATTER! THEY MATTER! THEY MATTER!

Which, again, I sorta get. Newspaper staffs have been depleted. Newspaper resources have also been depleted. The old days of “Get our best reporter on the next plane to Jackson!” are largely gone.

But, for a moment, let’s say they weren’t over. Let’s say reporting was reporting, and journalism was journalism. What are the storylines that need to be pursued?

Here are some (in my opinion) answers …

• 1. The Aftermath at Jackson State: This, to me, is the biggie. Sanders brought a shitload of hope to Mississippi’s capital city—and now the tablecloth has been yanked and the mustard and apple sauce have splattered on the floor. Not all that long ago, a reporter (or two. Or 10. Or 30) would find those Jackson State players who came to school because Sanders recruited them and made the 800 promises that college coaches make. The reporter would dig into their psyches—and what he/she/they would find (I assure you) are young men who feel duped, who feel used, who feel discarded. “Inquires about how the [JSU] program will look/be covered in the aftermath, and if Sanders had a succession plan are all things that need answers,” said Carron J. Phillips of Deadspin, who penned this piece on Sanders leaving.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve spent time at Jackson State. It is (bluntly) not a particularly nice campus. You don’t choose it over, oh, Miami or UCLA or Ole Miss because downtown Jackson is such a thriving destination. No—you go because someone has given you a specific reason. That reason was (cough, cough) Deion Sanders, and the promises of SWAC glory and HBCU heritage.

Well, now what? You’re the kid from Spring, Texas who came to Jackson. You’re the kid from Atlanta who came to Jackson. You’re the kid from Chicago who came to Jackson. Sure, the transfer portal is waiting for you. But maybe you’ve made good friends at Jackson State. Maybe you fell in love with a coed. Maybe you feel at home. Maybe you find the ordeal to be daunting.

Do you stay, knowing the program is all but certain to hit the shitter? Do you stay, knowing 90 percent of the attention is about to vanish?

• 2. The Aftermath of Jackson State II: The standard line, uttered endlessly since Sanders’ announced departure, is that Jackson State’s football program has been permanently shifted, and thanks to Coach Prime the Tigers are once again nationally known and widely respected. “This,” a conga line of people have uttered, “is just the beginning.”

But is it? Is it really?

If I’m writing about Sanders leaving, I’m digging deep into similar past circumstances—celebrity/high-level coaches departing meh situations (after a limited number of seasons) for greener pastures but raving about a program forever changed and bettered. The year after John Calipari left Memphis for Kentucky in 2009, the Tigers dropped from 33-4 (and a No. 3 national ranking) to 24-10 (and unranked). The year after Jay Wright bolted Hofstra for Villanova in 2000, the Pride plummeted from 26-5 to 12-20. There are, surely, e-n-d-l-e-s-s examples—most of which (I’m guessing) don’t wind up with sustained glory, but with glum recollections of fleeting glory.

• 3. The Aftermath of Jackson State III: There’s a question that needs to be addressed, but (because it’s incredibly awkward) never is: Should young African-Americans actually be attending HBCUs if they have other options? I know … I know—sacrilege! And also a weird thing for an old white guy to throw out there. But while HBCUs like Jackson State and Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State boast rich histories and give young Black men and women the chance to feel comfortable in their own skins (no small thing), well, the schools just aren’t academically or athletically so great. I know … I know—shitty thing to point out. But HBCUs tend to offer limited resources while being located in areas with so-so-to-minimal opportunities, RE: internships, exposure, etc. And (in sports) they’re never competing for national titles or being heavily scouted. Certainly not like Division I programs.

So … should highly touted athletes have ever even selected to play at Jackson State? Were they doing so for their own benefits … or for Sanders? “Do folks still believe that Black athletes should go to HBCUs?” asked Elizabeth Newman, a longtime sports journalist who has helped mentor many student journalists from HBCUs. “The jury has been mighty quiet on that one.”

• 4. The God Thing: Deion Sanders cites God a lot—which is (obviously) totally fine. But he goes to some pretty weird places. He is convinced that God brought him to Colorado to coach football (“Of all the persons in the world, God chose me. For that, I thank [him]. For that, I love him. For that, I magnify him. For that, I glorify him. For that, I praise him. For that, I owe him. Each and every day, I’m trying to please him.”). And I think this needs to be discussed. What if some of his players don’t believe in God? What is some of his players are atheists? Does Sanders think religion has a place in the locker room? In the public university locker room?

During his introductory press conference, Sanders noted that, “It’s funny how God always takes me to the unthinkable and provokes me to do the things that people wouldn’t fathom doing.” Being serious: Why does he think it’s God? And if God is leading him to coach football, wasn’t he also leading that drunk driver to kill the 6-year-old girl? Wasn’t he leading a kid to shoot up a school? It’s an amazing piece waiting to be written.

• 5. The Meeting with his New Players: This has been heavily discussed, because Sanders was equally parts inspirational and befuddling. But the one moment I haven’t seen mentioned comes at 12:35 , when a returning Buffalo asks what’ll happen to members of the roster who are hurt.

The new coach’s reply: “Get treatment. If you’re salvageable. If you’re on the list and they tell me you aren’t worth a darn, it’s a wrap. We gonna hug and kiss and say goodbye.”

And I don’t understand how this hasn’t been broached with Sanders, with the AD. The new coach of a college football team just said hurt players will be kicked to the curb. Not hurt professional players—hurt students. Kids who came to Colorado for an education. Does this mean the scholarship will be revoked? Does this mean … what? And when? And how? And who?

• 6. Can Deion Sanders Coach?: I haven’t seen anyone answer this. Or ask this. But I think it’s sorta hanging there. He won at Jackson State by out-recruiting everyone else in the SWAC. But, well, that was the SWAC.

Here’s his schedule for 2023 …

Bluster is great for a while. It really is. But the shelf life is short. So I’d love a deep dive piece on Sanders on the sidelines. Does he know what he’s doing? Is he good at game-planning? Can he adjust on the fly? How involved is he in the nitty-gritty? The details?

• 7. Why Didn’t Any Other Major Schools Offer Sanders the Job?: I’m looking at you, Auburn University. Your program sucks. It’s lifeless and listless and under water. The University of Alabama has all the excitement, you have none. So why, oh, why, did Auburn turn to Hugh Freeze (heavily flawed in myriad ways) without so much as a call to Coach Prime? Was it a racial thing? (Probably). Was it a coaching thing (Maybe)? Did Sanders rub some Auburn folks wrongly? (Almost certainly). And what would have happened had another school called before Colorado? Could Deion be at Auburn right now? “My biggest question is why did Sanders have to leave the South (and land in a reliably Blue state) to break into big-time college football?” said Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post. “He’s a product of the Deep South: his most memorable life’s work occurred in Tallahassee, Atlanta, Dallas and Jackson. Somebody in the SEC should have wanted this guy, and it’s obvious why nobody did. My alma mater, Vanderbilt, is responsible for 40 percent of the Black head coach hires in the history of the SEC. And how many Black head coaches have there been, combined, at Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, LSU and Florida (arguably the six premier programs in the country’s premier football conference)? That would be none.”

• 8. Are we Being Unfair to Deion?: Or, put different, are we treating him differently than we do a Nick Saban, a Brian Kelly, a Dabo Swinney? Have we asked white head coaches the same questions we’re asking an African-American one? Were we as offended when Kelly jumped from Notre Dame to LSU as we are now? Should we be?

• 9. Is Deion Sanders Full of Shit?: This, to me, is the BIG one, and were it Sports Illustrated in 1995, we’d be all over the topic. Sanders is either a football savant or a carnival barker. He’s either revolutionizing the game or convincing people with deep pockets that he’s revolutionizing the game. On the one hand, he convinced America he was all in on HBCUs—then vanished. On the other hand, he turned a program around. So which is it?

There are questions to be asked.

So many questions.

The Quaz Five with … Bill Speros

Bill Speros is a senior betting analyst for Bookies and a sports columnist for the Boston Herald. You can follow him on Twitter here.

1. Bill, don't hate me, but I think sports gambling is having an incredibly corrosive, dark impact on the whole athletics landscape. Tell me why I'm wrong: Gambling is the world’s second-oldest profession. There has been gambling on sports for as long as there have been sports. The World Series was fixed 99 years before the Supreme Court cleared the way for sports betting to spread nationwide in 2018. The CCNY and BC basketball betting scandals pre-dated legalized gambling. As did Alex Karras. Paul Hornung and Pete Rose all betting on sports. The legalization of gambling was both a logical and frankly necessary step. That’s been evidenced in how quickly pro and college teams have embraced it. Especially the NFL. Legal, regulated, and taxed marijuana has elevated something that was prevalent but illegal into the mainstream. Betting is no different. 

There have been 10 major elements in the growth of sports in the last 100 years.

1.     Babe Ruth – The first true superstar brought sports into the mainstream

2.     Radio – Brought games to the masses

3.     Integration – Opportunity for all

4.     TV – Brough games to the masses with pictures

5.     Expansion – Brought games to everywhere

6.     Free Agency – Freedom for the athletes (Now it’s in college with NIL)

7.     Title IX – Is the reason why women’s sports are so strong in the US vs. the rest of the world

8.     Cable – ESPN and everything game televised

9.     Internet and Social Media – Real-time info and direct communication with athletes

10.  Sports betting – Sponsorship revenue and an exponential increase in audience engagement

I am not making any moral equivalency here. Just noting their impacts. Nearly all met headwinds when they happened. Radio was going to kill fans going to the games. Integration – no explanation necessary. TV was going to kill radio. Expansion was going to water down competition. Free agency was going to bankrupt sports. Title IX? Women can’t play sports. Cable is going to kill TV. The internet and social media is a sewer. Etc.

And now, gambling.

Once upon a time, Brent and Jimmy The Greek couldn’t even say “Las Vegas” on the “NFL Today.” And “gambling” was a four-letter word. In five years, no one will remember sports without it.  

2. OK, you and I have both spent time up close with Rodney Dangerfield. I was with him while he was 70% naked and smoking a bong. What's your saga?: Orlando Sentinel Football Section Photoshoot – Summer 2004. Our section theme was “Football Cliches” and we all agreed that “No respect” was tops on the list. Rodney was the White Whale. We began to email him in May. By July, we got the go-ahead. Photographer John Raoux and I flew out to LA. On the flight, I read Rodney’s bio and saw his then-wife used to be a florist. My first stop was at a local florist. I told her what we were up to, and she created a bouquet worthy of Secretariat at the Belmont. A private elevator took us from the lobby directly to his Beverly Hills apartment. The door opened and Rodney invited us in. I gave his wife the flowers and she said: “Rodney, you are going do to whatever these two gentlemen ask.” He was as funny and engaging in person as you could imagine. He asked me, “What are you?” (Greek) and where I was from. He then gave me a rundown of all the places he played in Massachusetts. Rodney was wearing an open bathroom and nothing else. I ended up him in his bedroom explaining our plan while John set up the shot. He put on our custom-made attire and was on-point once the camera started clicking. He then he underwent heart and brain surgery in August. He would never leave the hospital before passing away about six weeks later. He posted the section cover at the foot of his bed as every comedian known to man paid their respects. His wife told me Seinfeld and Jay Leno thought it was hilarious. Bucket list check.

3. You were sports editor of the Waterbury Republican-American for one year in the mid-1990s. What would modern journalists (aka: those under 30) be shocked to know about daily newspaper life 30 years back?: Journalism was much more labor intensive. Games were covered on site. Phone lines had to be secured for filing anything on deadline. Reporting done over the phone or in person. Research was done in the microfilm room, library, or on site depending on the subject. If you wanted to read a newspaper from out of town, you had to subscribe by mail, go to newsstand in a major city, or the Library of Congress. Adrian Wojnarowksi was our UConn beat writer. You know him as a TV and Twitter guy. I remember him as a young beat writer who relentlessly worked his ass off in Storrs and was always eager get his work in the paper.

The barrier to entry was much higher. Deadlines were set in stone. Space was tight. If you were working on a story and it didn’t make Tuesday’s paper. It held a day, or two. Separate people reported, edited, assigned stories, took photos (there was no video), slotted stories, designed the paper, produced the paper, and delivered the paper. Now, all of those tasks or their equivalents can be one person with just a smart phone and internet access.

4. You attended Marquette and lived five doors down from the late Chris Farley. What was he like? Did you see any of what came coming?: Eight South in Schroeder Hall in 1983-84. Chris was the same Chris back then that you saw on TV or in the movies. Chris was funny, engaging, very religious and surprisingly athletic. And he was a really good guy. He used to bet girls a kiss that he could not do a handstand. Never failed. Chris’ success as an actor on TV and in film – I believe – occurred because he was not acting. He was himself. On or off camera. I did not see him becoming a star but was not surprised when it happened. Sadly, the same sentiments can be said of his passing.

One side note, the real life “Matt Foley” is a Roman Catholic priest near Chicago who became very close to Chris when he was at Marquette. Matt’s brother, Patrick, was my roommate freshman year. I met Matt on my first day at Marquette back in 1982. Even before I knew Chris.

5. You've survived a long time in this business? What are the keys to staying power?:: My career is much like the famous GIF of “The Undertaker” that pops up whenever someone is making a comeback on NFL Sunday. I almost died twice and underwent a pair of liver transplants in 2008 and 2010. My first 23 years as a professional were spent in newspapers – in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, and Florida. Overall, I was laid off twice by Tribune, by ESPN as a contract writer/editor, and sort-of-fired by the Boston Globe after writing my “Obnoxious Boston Fan” blog for 4 years at Boston.com. Each time I lost a job, a new and better opportunity manifested itself. Preserve your professional reputation at all costs. Build your network. It will save you. You have to be able to either control your environment or adapt when it changes. That includes embracing technology and change. And being able to move on from things that are not working.  When I started at Marquette, we were still using typewriters. 35 years later, I was running two websites for two different companies at the same time using my smartphone. Finally, you have to really want to stay in this profession. There are always opportunities elsewhere. But I never wanted to do anything else.

This week’s college writer you should follow on Twitter …

Chloe Gough, opinion writer for the University Daily Kansan.

I was just bumming around the ol’ World Wide Web when I stumbled upon Chloe’s piece about the Rocky movie franchise. This, in particular, grabbed me …

Excellent stuff. Chloe can be followed here. Bravo, kid.

Random journalism musings for the week …

Musing 1: Very tragic news out of Nashville, where Peter Cooper, the well-known and highly regarded music scribe died at age 52 after a fall. Cooper was a journalist’s journalist, and if you don’t believe me check out these words, written by the man himself: “Now, for sure, you need a good bull**** detector, and you shouldn't rant, and you shouldn't cheerlead,” he wrote in his book, Johnny’s Cash & Charley’s Pride. “But objectivity is dispassionate. And we're in the passion business. We're trying to make people feel something different than what they felt before they read our words.”

Musing 2: I am still beaming in the aftermath of Kari Lake’s pathetic showing in the Arizona gubernatorial election. And while I don’t share any political commonalities with the shallow Lake, it’s this moment—when she told area journalists that she was about to teach them lessons and be their worst nightmare—that makes me giddy. Farewell, Kari. And good riddance. (That said, this is pretty damn awesome)

Musing 3: Because Seth Wickersham is one of the best of the best of the best, he somehow got the reclusive Andrew Luck to speak at length for this magnificent ESPN.com profile. It’s a worthwhile read.

Musing 4: The return of Brittney Griner to the United States is the sort of thing we used to celebrate as a nation—politics be damned. But, well, no longer. As always, I’m impressed by the way Clay Travis, a walking used condom, found a way to (while living his secret live as a fairly liberal guy) feed his MAGA followers the red meat they crave.

Yes, Clay, Brittney hates her country because she’s dared to speak up on issues that concern her. OK, big guy. Roll with that.

OutKick @Outkick

JOE BIDEN WITH THE WORST TRADE OF ALL TIME ‼️ “Former marine should have been a basketball player who hates America, he would have gotten out of the country faster” @ClayTravis breaks down Brittney Griner and international arms dealer Viktor Bout’s prison swap ⬇️

Musing 5: Jack Dunn, one of my journalism students at Chapman University, is raw and fuzz-faced and working his way up. But the kid has a natural flow that does it for me. Exhibit A is the lede to his final paper, a piece on rapper Glasses Malone. It’s not perfect, but it oozes potential …

Musing 6: Tremendous writing/reporting from the Boston Globe’s Julian McWilliams in this piece, headlined, AT THE SAN DIEGO AIRPORT, A STUNNED CHAIM BLOOM TRIED TO PROCESS THE REALITY OF THE RED SOX WITHOUT XANDER BOGAERTS. The power of detail reigns.

Musing 7: Some of America’s greatest modern writers are hip-hop artists, and right now the dude leading the charge is J.I.D. out of Atlanta. Seriously, “2007” is an absolutely brilliant piece of art.

Take a listen …

Quote of the week …

“Journalism without a moral position is impossible. Every journalist is a moralist. It's absolutely unavoidable. A journalist is someone who looks at the world and the way it works, someone who takes a close look at things every day and reports what she sees, someone who represents the world, the event, for others. She cannot do her work without judging what she sees.”

— Marguerite Dura

1. It’s a bit dispiriting how many of us write “could care less”—which I, too, did for a long time. But if you think about it, that wouldn’t make sense. Because if you could care less, that means, well, you could care less.

2. Producer In Name Only