Ya gotta be in the clique to roll with the BCS

Lately, college football has really excited me until the bowl season.  The BCS is total BS, if you ask me.  If no other season presents a compelling argument for the NCAA FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) to go to a playoff system, this one certainly does.  Even Boise State's coach, Chris Peterson, decided to publicly say something.  It all begins with the BCS Championship, which is a rematch between LSU and Alabama.  Of course Tide fans wanted this rematch but Oklahoma State fans believe the match-up is BS, because they believe a more compelling game would be the Big 12 champs versus the SEC champs.  Then there are the cases of the Houston, who seemed to be Sugar Bowl-bound until they lost the Conference USA championship, and Boise State, who is also a one-loss team.  Neither will be playing BCS bowls.  You can easily argue that Houston screwed themselves by losing to Southern Miss, a "lesser" opponent; but Boise State's track record speaks for itself, regardless of their loss this season.

If you ask me, these debates would be easily solved in a playoff format; but it's obvious the NCAA doesn't want that.  It boggles the mind, because I believe the NCAA has everything to gain by putting its biggest dogs in a playoff system.  It doesn't matter where these games would be played, the entire SEC, Big Ten, and Big 12 fan bases travel very well.  Other teams' fans, such as Boise State's, Houston's, USC's, and Florida State's travel very well, too.  But how embarrassing is it when a big dog such as Oklahoma loses to a "lesser" opponent such as Boise State (which is what happened in the '07 Fiesta Bowl)?

In 2010, the little frogs that could from the little school in Texas capped a 13-0 season by taming the ferocious badgers from the big school in Wisconsin.  Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

I understand, though.  Don't hate the player; hate the game.  This is all about money.  No matter how much sense we BCS opponents make (see great article links below), it's all about who is in whose pockets.  C'mon, you don't think this is about putting compelling college football on TV, do you?  If it were, we would have a playoff system just like the one that works so well in the FCS (Football Championship Subdivision formerly NCAA Division I-AA).  But I truly believe that this is about schools in the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten, Big East, ACC, and PAC 12 being the have's and the schools in the WAC, Mountain West, MAC, and Conference USA being have not's.  With the former list of schools being automatic qualifiers for BCS bowls, it's easier to understand why there has been a mad scramble of institutions to hop into conferences that they believe will give them better chances at the pot o' gold at the end of the college football rainbow.  According to a 2008 article on Rivals.com, the BCS payed as much as $17 million a team at that time.  It's college football's version of the rich getting richer but the "poor" just not getting as much.  If it sounds a bit corrupt, I believe it is.  But remember this; people who benefit from corruption don't care what the rest of us think.

This is not about pure competition.  You already have the Boise State/Oklahoma example.  In 1998 my Tulane Green Wave ended a perfect season by slamming a "better" BYU team in the Liberty Bowl.  Last year TCU showed America what they were made of by defeating Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, which was truly ironic on the heels of Ohio State's president referring to schools like TCU and Boise State as "Little Sisters of the Poor" programs.  It's clear that if you give the Houston's of college football a chance in a playoff format, they could beat a Big Ten or Big 12 opponent.  The NCAA has everything to gain by leveling the playing field (pardon the pun) in a playoff system.  But I wonder who, in the NCAA, is going to have the balls to renegotiate this system which is so lucrative to the big dogs.

More great reading:

• "College football playoff plan" by Dan Wetzel (Rivals.com)
• "Here's Everything College Football Has to Gain by Scraping (sic) the BCS for a National Playoff" by Eric McErlain (BusinessInsider.com)

A relationship disease

On the November 26th edition of Real Talk, I approached the topic of what I call the "dog double standard" in relationships.  When a man dogs a woman out, it's widely accepted, rightfully so, as wrong.  When a woman dogs out a man, there's a "good reason" for it.  A subtopic of this conversation took on a life of its own, however, when I brought up some women justifying their relationships with married men as something that makes sense.

Repeating what I heard from a few women, apparently there are those women who date married men because those men are "honest" and "stable".  In fact a caller even echoed this sentiment.  That's pretty damn sick.  These women apparently take comfort in "knowing where the man is at all times" even though he says he is with his wife when he's not cheating.  Of course, this is great for the creep who is cheating, because he has control of at least two women's minds.  One woman, in particular, told me she appreciated her married guy's "honesty" as he would constantly remind her that he "couldn't leave" his wife.  I challenged her about his dating other women on the side.  She seemed to believe that his honesty gave her some sort of control of her situation whereas "you never know" with a single man.  OK.

Now, I say unabashedly that I'm a good guy.  To hell with being humble.  I'm a good guy, I've been a good guy, and I will continue to be a good guy.  It's what my father taught me to be.  I would blame the unfaithful men for some of these issues, but that's clearly a "Don't hate the player, hate the game" issue.  Hey, if he throws it, and she catches it, I can't be mad at him.  The issue for the good guys is that by the time we meet these women (especially those of us in our 30's and beyond), they're practically damaged goods.  Their brains and emotions are scrambled beyond recognition.

You can call it over reacting but I view this as a relationship disease.  The good guy gets into a relationship with these women, who also adopt the thought that there are "no good single men out there" (a problem seriously pronounced in the Black community), and he finds himself running alone in sort of an emotional and mental wilderness.  This is without a doubt a poisonous way of thinking and too many women feel it's OK.  

This is why I have so much respect and admiration for men who have enough love in their hearts to stick with women who often have emotionally unstable children as well.  When I hear the stories of men who become step dads and accept the burden of women scorned with their children, I know there's definitely a place in Heaven for these guys.  Of course, I'm talking about the good guys--faithful, responsible, non-abusive guys.

What's the cure for this?  I'm not sure there is one.  I would say common sense, but we all know common sense ain't common.  I guess this is where we give in to the cliche "Time heals all wounds."  The good guy has to know, unfortunately, that it's up to him to simply walk away.

What's wrong with Louisiana education? It's the leadership, stupid!

In the interest of full disclosure, I work for a state university in Louisiana.  And now, my soapbox . . .

Ironically, I found this pic on this blog.

When your car needs gas, what do you do?  My guess is you stop at the gas station and put gas in it.  How about blowing up a couple of gas stations when your car needs gas?  If you were ask a Louisiana legislator, he or she would probably go for the latter option based on the logic these geniuses are using to "improve" public higher education in the state.

With public universities statistically not performing up to par, Louisiana education and political leaders have been looking for answers.  Let me say that our institutions of higher learning need not walk away from this tough discussion of needing to improve, as a collective.  Don't get mad at the statistics, get real about them.  One suggestion that has been floated from the legislative side, however, has been to close a couple of the four-year universities.  Why?  Somebody somewhere feels that academic programs are being duplicated among these schools.  The three areas in the state that have four-year public colleges within a few miles of one another are New Orleans (University of New Orleans and Southern University at New Orleans), Baton Rouge (Southern University and Louisiana State), and Ruston/Grambling (Louisiana Tech and Grambling State).  Among these three groupings I have a hard time believing that duplication of academic programs is that big an issue.  What puzzles me is this weird logic that shutting institutions down in a state where education doesn't exactly rule the budget roost in the first place sounds like a good idea.

Yes, I know it's about money but this is just plain stupid.  First of all, Louisiana is already ranked near the bottom in education.  Second, the state only graduates an estimated 62% to 65% of its students from public high schools.  Instead of addressing secondary public high school education and a damaged paradigm in communities throughout the state, some goober with a title decides that shutting colleges down is a solution.  

Supposedly, according to the Louisiana constitution the education and health care budgets are slashed first in times of financial hardship.  Our legislature wasted no time doing that to the tune of millions of dollars over the past few years.  These same economic development wonder kids lament that we have to do better in schools and in health with less.  Instead of changing this mysterious part of the constitution, Louisiana has no problem housing a population that theoretically gets less educated and more sickly than ever.  Still, politicians will campaign this season on platforms of improving education and building healthier communities.  

This is where voters need to not only ask tough questions but expect intelligent answers.  But then again, how can we expect intelligent answers in a state where education is clearly an after thought?

Louisianans have a chance to start improving education on October 22nd



NOLA.com

In Louisiana, we lament constantly about the poor state of education.  One article that has ignited a quiet but intense discussion is a piece by Sarah Carr of The Times-Picayune from September 25th.  The piece covered the Louisiana Board of Regents' move to require no remedials of college bound students who wish to attend state four-year universities (LSU, LSU-Alexandria, LSU-Shreveport, Southern, Southern at New Orleans, Grambling State, Louisiana Tech, UL-Monroe, UL-Lafayette, Northwestern State, McNeese State, Nicholls State, SLU, and UNO) as of fall 2014.  As a result, the Black community has had an intriguing discussion about what this means for Black students.  Truth be known, it affects all students, but the Black community tends to be most adversely affected by major education policy changes.  The question I raised on the October 1st edition of "Real Talk" is whether or not this is forcing educational accountability or excluding communities from the higher education landscape.

The issue, to me, is that the people who often put these kinds of policies in place do so in a bubble.  Louisiana's elected officials, as a collective, have no concept of leadership in the first place, if you ask me.  In the consummate "It's not what you know, it's who you know" community, Louisiana thrives on placing people who don't know squat about their positions in high places.  The "jobs for friends" network is a dangerous and costly one.  And who loses?  None other than the everyday working individual who needs to "make a dollar out of 15 cents" (quoting the rapper Shock G). 

Louisianans will have the opportunity, on October 22nd, to decide who the best of their choices are to represent them on the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  Yes, you and I get to elect these people, and hold their feet to the fire once they get in.  Not only do we get to vote for our favorite BESE candidates there but also state legislators.  Legislative moves in education will most certainly be affected by BESE's decisions.

Why do I target BESE?  We need folks who will make choices to best support our public high schools in getting college bound students more college-ready.  The Regents, who are appointed, are trying to strengthen state colleges and universities in a state where many students are hardly ready for two-year colleges in many cases, let alone barely graduating from high school.  Therefore, we have to drill down at the level which represents the most critical level of a child's development--the secondary education level.

We need BESE members who will find ways to strengthen programs such as Early Start and talk legislators into funding more summer bridge-type programs at state universities to help students catch up on developmental classes.  The problem is getting Louisianans to be as passionate about this issue as they are about coaching issues at LSU.  Wish us luck.

You might be better off without THAT job

It's amazing that even in these lean economic times, people feel that they are better off without certain jobs.  In a conversation about job hunting a lady told me that she was glad she didn't get an interview with a company because of her initial encounter with their human resources division.  Our conversation went something like this:

Lady:  Was there ever a time that you were glad a company didn't give you a second look, even though you might've really needed a job?

Me:  Actually, yes.

Lady:  I applied for a job that clearly stated in the posting "healthcare experience preferred."  To me "preferred" means they would like for you to have the experience but they'll consider you if they're impressed enough with your resume and/or interview.

Me:  Some would argue that point but I agree with that.

Lady:  Exactly!  So I get an email from the company asking for my salary requirements, leadership experience, and a time I could schedule an interview.  Of course, I was elated, so I replied immediately!  This idiot replied to me saying my leadership skills weren't what they were looking for and that I was lacking healthcare experience.  I thought that was the stupidest thing!  My friggin' resume TOLD you I don't have healthcare experience so why did they even bother emailing me???

I felt her pain.  We both concluded that either this person didn't read the resume thoroughly or didn't read the thing at all.  The bad news is that companies and organizations are full of people like this.  It makes you truly respect a company that asks you thorough questions based on your resume.

I remember running across a legitimate opportunity that seemed way too good to be true years ago.  I went to the interview and asked my interviewer about the company's work-life balance program.  He looked up, repeated "work-life balance" three times, and shoveled the biggest load of ka ka about work-life balance that I had ever heard.  The fool had no idea what a work-life balance program was.  Even if I had gotten an offer, I most likely would not have taken it.

The damn shame of living in this economy is that companies and organizations are bending people over the barrel like crazy, and people endure blatant disrespect all in the name of getting a much-needed paycheck.  At that point, it becomes an issue of personal values and pride.  You can't stop companies and organizations from allowing boneheads to represent them.  You can, however, draw a personal line in the sand to save your sanity.

Exactly when is Michael Vick's debt considered paid?

Help me understand what makes Michael Vick the worst human being of the past 10 years.  I almost feel as if people have more compassion for Osama Bin Laden than Vick.  The Philadelphia Eagles have given Vick a huge vote of confidence by hooking him up with a 6-year $100 million contract, some of which is guaranteed money.  And quite a few of the animal rights folks are majorly hacked off.

Like anyone else, I value life, and I'm a dog lover.  I don't think what Vick did was cool at all.  Vick has admitted time and time again that his financing a dog fighting ring was irresponsible and simply not a good thing.  In fact, he did more than admit it.  He went to jail for it.  He had a great NFL career that got interrupted by his being young and stupid with too much money and a useless allegiance to his boys.  And I repeat, not only does he admit that, but he went to jail for it.  For a lot of animal rights folks, however, that's not enough.

Vick has been a speaking tour to steer young people away from animal cruelty.  It's not enough.  He said he wanted a dog.  The animal rights people thought that was a travesty.  He got picked up by the Eagles.  They screamed bloody murder.  Now, he's gotten the kind of news that would make the average person cry tears of a joy.  Cue the collective cries of "This is ridiculous!!!"

Does Vick deserve that kind of money?  I would argue that he doesn't.  From a pure football fan's standpoint, Vick is good, but I'm not sure he's that awesome.  Does he deserve the second chance that he has gotten?  I say yes.  He did his time, period.  I mean, there isn't this kind of outrage when innocent Black men are gunned down by rogue cops!  Yes, I went there, and I'll buy as many round trip tickets as I can to keep going there.

I understand where the animal rights people are coming from, but they really need to let this man live his life.  If he screws around and gets into the same trouble, have at him by all means.  Anybody that stupid doesn't intend to straighten up.  In the meantime, respect the fact that he was caught, got arrested, convicted, did his time, and does his level best to show a better side of Mike Vick.

The anatomy of a meeting

Want to have a successful meeting?  It's pretty simple.

1. The meeting chair (or leader) should have an agenda, even if it isn't written.  Just know what needs to be accomplished.
2. Keep the conversation on the agenda items until the floor is opened up for extra comments at the end.  Even then, keep the conversation on the subject at hand (I just don't like wasting time on crap that has nothing to do with the price of pralines in the French Quarter).
3. Either turn your damn cell phone on vibrate or silent, and for the love all that is Holy on Earth PLEASE don't answer it at the meeting table.  One day I'm going to lose it, grab a phone, and chuck it out of a window.
4. Know what you want to accomplish.  Know what the primary message is or know what the action items are.  Also, know who will carry what task out if action items are given.
5. Know when the job needs to be done and communicate that.
6. If there needs to be a follow-up meeting, KNOW when that will be by the time everyone leaves the room.
7. Have a time limit.  People have things to do.