The portal is passed down, enticing younger players jump ship

Your first mistake - There is no space between assessment and action for the prime-time athlete. Their brains are nothing like an iPad in the hands of an analyst. Anyone from my generation of football who has made the mistake of responding to a coach who asked, “Frederick, what the hell were you doing?” by answering, “Well, coach, I thought…,” that was your first mistake. “You thought? Just do your job and we’ll do the thinking for you.” I think – first mistake – that many fans are tired of hearing a two-minute analysis of a play that took seven seconds. As sure as your Peacock has feathers and doesn’t live in Kansas City, those young, precocious players you watched on Wildcard Weekend just do what they do; it is instinctual read-on-the-run medulla oblongata stuff. I just know this: On fourth and long, just drop back and pundit.

Infiltration and contamination - Cultures change from the bottom but life lessons are passed down from the top. All this transfer portal stuff while capitalizing on image and likeness for college athletes seeps down into high school sports, skewing the outlook of some sports families who are looking for a better deal for the superstar of rent-a-car athletes in residence living on the second floor of their houses. Dedicated coaches work with the kids who come to practice every day. I have heard many say, “I will not recruit players already on my team.” Free agency in professional sports is nice for the players and proves they are not indentured servants, but it doesn’t do much for the loyalty to the city concept. 

Ageism - “My grandpa and your grandpa sitting by the fire: my grandpa tells your grandpa, let’s all just retire.” Iko Iko. Pete Carroll, Bill Belichik and Nick Saban, all for different reasons, gave up their jobs as head football coaches. All three are septuagenarians – about 72 – and they are all millionaires, which makes life-changing decisions easier. When Bill Clinton was running for president in 1996 against Bob Dole, age 73, he said, “Bob Dole isn’t old; his ideas are old.” I’m in the septuagenarian stage of development, but not the millionaire class. It’s not about old ideas, more about less energy and tolerance for wackadoodles and labradoodles. And so in contrast, we have Joe Biden and Donald Trump, both pushing 80, running for president of the United States. What drives them; what is the energy and clarity of thought, and what is their motivation to stay out there in the fast lane where everybody knows your name but most wish they didn’t?  

Big week - Check out websites4sports.com, then click the flag of your favorite sports school, then hit the calendar tab. Cape boys’ basketball will host Sussex Tech Tuesday, Jan. 16, in a “what’s up” game from start to finish that is planned to actually finish. Cape wrestling will host Smyrna Wednesday, Jan. 17, and never pencil in a W when facing the Eagles, who have had a dominant wrestling team for the last 50 years  The undefeated Cape swim team will stroke out against unbeaten Sussex Academy Friday, Jan. 19, at the Sussex YMCA. The Seahawks girls’ team has won 34 dual meets in a row. 

Snippets - Oddly enough, college coaches don’t do onsite recruiting like they used to, and in football, the process has reached a level of arrogance where if the recruiter hasn't heard of somebody, then they must be nobody. Bump up a level from high school and it becomes a cold business. Sometimes a coach in a sport has a great kid, a can't-miss player at a particular level, that they can’t give away for free because the school has no room on their roster. The system is going Pacman on itself, or Frogger if you're from the Atari generation. I’m a rich man. I can pay for Peacock even though I know the NFL is playing me like an accordion at an Italian wedding. The No. 1 New Year's resolution is to lose weight. Ironically, it is No. 1 every year, mostly made by the same people. I remember encouraging a talented high school football guy to return to wrestling – he was good in middle school – saying he could dominate the 285-pound weight class. “What do you tip the Toledos at now?" I asked. “Torpedoes? Are you talking about how many subs I eat?” “No, how much do you weigh?”  “About 340,” he said. “Any interest in getting down to 285?” “Absolutely none,” he said. “I’ll keep tipping the torpedoes.” Go on now, git!