By J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
PGA Tour professional Tony Finau has long had a reputation as a guy who routinely appeared in contention during the first two rounds of an event, only to fade on the weekend. He changed that narrative in a big way last weekend by chasing down superstar John Rahm on the back nine and then defeating Cameron Smith in a one-hole playoff to win the Northern Trust Open in the First Round of the PGA Playoffs. The final round was pushed to Monday because of a hurricane, so technically he did not win on a weekend, but it was just the talented player’s second Tour win and first in the continental United States in his career (He won the Puerto Rico Open in 2016)…
The Name Image and Likeness (NIL) ruling has already created question marks about when it is a legitimate business opportunity for players and when it is an attempt to lure big-time athletes to a certain school. It started when Miami businessman Dan Lambert offered all 90 Miami scholarship football players a $500 a month contract to promote his American Top Team martial arts training facilities. Doing the math, that comes to $6000 per player per year at a total cost of $540,000. I have no issue with this at all, other than to ask the question: Is it a legitimate business arrangement to promote his gym, or is it an attempt to lure the best players to Miami? For example, the late T. Boone Pickens donated more than $500 million to Oklahoma State University before his death. In theory, if Mr. Pickens were still alive, he could be offering $1,000,000 endorsement deals to athletes to promote his hedge funds if they signed with OSU. Of course, it would be worded differently but with the NCAA’s current “hands-off” approach to regulating things like this, it could happen. Still, I think the long-range NIL issues could solve themselves. I’ve never met too many wealthy businessmen who like to throw money away and most are concerned with return on investment. After the NIL novelty wears off, are businessmen like Mr. Lambert going to continue to pay half-a-mil per year to get a third-string tackle to promote a gym?….
Just wondering. How come we ask for a tuna fish sandwich but never ask for a chicken bird sandwich or a beef cow burrito?…
The Orlando Bills? Buffalo Bills team owners Kim and Terry Pegula have forwarded a $1.4 billion proposal for a new stadium in Orchard Park to replace the aging Highmark Stadium, the 49-year-old facility that has been the home of the Bills since 1973. In doing so, they have requested that local and state governments “back the proposal,” which is ownership “speak” for “we want you to pay for it.” In the meantime, look for the Bills’ owners to reach out to other cities as alternative options if they do not get the new stadium they want in Western New York. This led to a local radio show host using a segment of his show to suggest this is a team Orlando should go after. With two NFL franchises within two hours of Orlando (Tampa Bay and Jacksonville) already fighting for Central Florida fans, I do not see luring the Bills to Orlando as even a remote possibility. Keep in mind the City of Orlando and Orange County spent close to $200 million on Camping World Stadium (formerly the Citrus Bowl) reconstruction in 2014. It is likely that an NFL team would demand additional costly renovations and upgrades before agreeing to move an NFL team there – something that would be a “hard sell” to taxpayers. And I would also have to believe the Jags and Bucs would fight like crazy to keep another NFL team out of their “territory.” If the NFL is to come to Orlando in our lifetime, it seems to me that a Jags’ relocation would be the most likely scenario for that to happen…
Guessing “Where Are You?” is the least used sentence in sign language…
Sept. 6 is the 25th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak, establishing a new record of 2131 games – which he would later extend to 2,632 games before finally sitting out a game. The question that remains is where does this record really stand in baseball history’s importance? For decades, Gehrig’s record was considered unapproachable and he was lauded as baseball’s “Ironman” long after he retired and later passed on. When Ripken broke Gehrig’s record, baseball made a big deal of it at the time but it is rarely mentioned today. While I understand but disagree with those who say, “What’s the big deal he went to work every day?” I still believe in a time when players routinely go on the 15-day disabled list for a torn toenail, Ripken’s streak deserves a lot more attention. At the time of this writing, the current major league player with the most consecutive games played belongs to the Kansas City Royals Whit Merrifield, who has played in 374 consecutive games. If baseball continues to play 162-game seasons uninterrupted, Merrifield would have to play in every game until midway through the 2036 season, when he would break Ripken’s record as a 46-year-old. Given Ripken was good enough to play that many years – collecting more than 3000 hits, more than 400 career home runs, winning two MVP awards, and going to 19 all-star games–I am of the opinion this consecutive games played streak belongs in the same breath as Dimaggio’s 56-game hitting streak…
Especially when dealing with this column, I guess you could say “Reading for Pleasure” implies the existence of “Reading for Pain”…
After a couple of pre-season games, some fans were already labeling Trevor Lawrence a “bust” and “bad draft pick”. Please stop it. First of all, it’s preseason. Second of all, if Lawrence does struggle it is going to be because of the Jags’ offensive line, not because of his immense talents. This guy checks all the boxes to eventually become a great quarterback. As far as looking a little ragged in the pre-season or even if he struggles in season one, keep in mind that Peyton Manning threw just nine touchdowns with 17 interceptions in his first season…
What does the Texas/Oklahoma move to the SEC and the ensuing announced “alliance” between the ACC, Big Ten and PAC-12 really mean? That’s something for smarter minds to figure out but based on the announcement, nothing much as there is no written agreement or specific proposals that were announced. At best, I think it means the other conferences are going to do everything in their power to keep from being run over by the SEC. In general, I also think it means all the conferences are going to take over more control of college sports – especially the cash cow of football. The NCAA has already scheduled a constitutional convention for November, which could be the first step in decentralizing its power over college sports and turning more responsibilities to the schools and conferences….
Y’all Have a Great Week…
By J. Daniel Pearson
For Positively Osceola
J. Daniel Pearson, a long-time resident of Osceola County, has joined Positively Osceola as a freelance contributor. His JD’s Monday Morning Musings column will be a regular feature and he will be covering events for us throughout the year. Dan is a former Public Relations Specialist for Florida State University, Boardwalk and Baseball, the Florida Sports Hall of Fame, the Orlando Predators, and other professional sports teams and has been a freelance reporter to many newspapers in the state.
