Vin Scully, Southpaw

Here, from an interview with Hugh Hewitt, is Vin Scully talking about being left-handed 'back in the day' when school teachers were bent on making everybody right-handed.

"There were times when they were not too charitable to this red-headed kid, and the reason was that I was very, very left-handed. And every time I would use my left hand, the good nun would hit me across the back of the knuckles with the flat of the ruler. And if I insisted upon using my left hand, occasionally she would turn the ruler so that she would hit me with the edge of the ruler, which broke the skin. And one night at dinner, passing the bread or whatever, my mother saw this cut up hand, and she assumed that I had been punished for talking in class or whatever. And she would have been correct 99% of the time. But in this instance, I explained no, it’s because I’m using my left hand. Well, our family doctor, and I only use this because it works out very well, our family doctor was Jewish. And he sat down and wrote a letter to the Catholic nuns. And in the letter, he explained, among other things, that if you force this little boy to become right-handed, it might very well cause him to stutter, which would have changed my life dramatically. And then the last line of the letter, it said and besides, dear Sisters, why in the world would you want to change God’s work?"

As the interview continues, it is apparent that Scully is familiar with the Lord and gives Him credit for the good fortune in his life.

Jack Buck was always my favorite announcer but I would have dearly loved to been able to hear Scully on a regular basis.

The Big One Is Coming (Updated)

UPDATE: After I posted this, Kathy and I went to Lowe's for wood and stuff, 'cause we're building shelves.  When we got back I checked the world and found this article by Brett McMurphy of CBSSports.com. McMurphy sees some of the same things I do, but he's got more details. (I like it when I am agreed with.) And he also spells out a consequence that is perfectly certain, but I hadn't developed it.

First, I wrote: "We are headed to four giant conferences." Here's McMurphy:

With all of the speculation and connecting-the-dots scenarios surrounding conference realignment (Texas A&M to the SEC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State possibly to the Pac-12), the obvious end game was this: the ACC and Big East would be the final two conferences with possibly only one surviving. Sort of like a Thunderdome showdown: two conferences enter, one conference leaves. And the ACC took the initiative in guaranteeing its survival.

 Here is the clear inference - assuming there's only going to be 4 super conferences and that the Big Ten, the SEC and the Pac 12 are three of them; and that the Big 12 will not exist, then it's down to the ACC and the Big East for the final seat at the table. Today, the ACC looks like the winner.

That means the Big East is going away. McMurphy again, this time about a certain university named:

Notre Dame - This is where things get really interesting. The Irish always have wanted to remain an independent. And as long as the Big East is around for the Irish to have a landing spot for their Olympic sports, they will stay independent. However, if there no longer is a Big East, the Irish would be forced to join a conference to find a home for their Olympic sports. In other words: hello, Big Ten.

If you've read my posts on this topic, you know I've been saying all along this was about the Big Ten landing Notre Dame. Today, someone else says it, too.

ORIGINAL POST: The big one is on the way.

The big college athletic conference re-alignment, that is. The news Saturday is that Pitt and Syracuse have applied to join the ACC. Friday we heard that the regents at Texas will meet to discuss conference affiliation. Oh, it coming, all right. Kiss the Big 12 good-bye, if you can muster enough affection to smooch that shotgun-wedding style of a conference.

Here is where we stand:

Nebraska and Colorado, Big 12 members as recently as the spring, began play in new conferences this fall, the Big Ten and the Pac 12, respectively.

At the end of August Texas A&M said auf Wiedersehen to the Big 12 (not sure why they spoke German) and applied to join the SEC.

Within days of that announcement, Oklahoma said they wanted to explore their options, too.

Then Texas with their announcement.

Today, Pitt and Syracuse.

But the big finish is yet to come. Though it's on the way.

We can see where this is headed. Stronger conferences are expanding, picking up strong schools to deepen the quality of their membership. They are adding schools to increase the conference footprint and TV market. The number of schools that remain to be of benefit is shrinking with each announcement. The rapidity with which this is happening is accelerating, like a snowball rolling downhill.

If you are conference leader considering expansion, you probably are hearing alarms right now. The pool of prospective candidates just got smaller with Pitt and Syracuse's announcement. Especially for the Big Ten. Pitt and Syracuse might have been decent fits for that conference, but not now. Oklahoma probably goes west to the Pac 12, which has promised it will not stand pat if teams start to jump. Maybe Texas is looking at the Pac 12. You don't want to be a conference needing to expand and the only options that remain are a bunch of Iowa States. The SEC is going to look for a fourteenth member, but the speculation is that the super conferences will have 16 members. Who will they be? Act now, because once they're gone, they're gone.

I'll say again what I have believed about this from the beginning. The Big Ten started this and I think they will finish it. They've been quiet, but I don't think they've been sitting still. They'll go to 14 and maybe 16 and I think Missouri will be one of their choices, it makes too much sense.

The SEC is expanding, as is the ACC. The Pac 12 has promised to respond. Do you think the Big Ten will do nothing? Neither do I. We are headed to four giant conferences. And the Big Ten will not be left behind.

And neither will Notre Dame.

Yes, the big one is coming.

I Love It When Words Come To Me

Joe Posnanski is one of the best sports writers in the business today. He was, at one time, at the Kansas City Star, but is now working for Sports Illustrated. His articles come up on my feed reader regularly and I always anticipate what he has to say.

One of the most recent posts by Posnanski is on the passing of Nick Charles, a sportscaster for CNN. I heard the news over the weekend, but I had no idea who he was since I usually don't have cable or satellite TV and, if I did, I probably wouldn't get my sports from CNN.

So I read Posnanski's article primarily because he is usually good, but secondly, I read it to be introduced to Nick Charles and why his life made the news. I am so glad I did, because I found the words for something that I have been having trouble explaining.

My recent layoff caused me to think about my life and work and why I do things and what things are worth doing. I have always known that I liked to write, but I would not have had an easy time explaining why. "Why do you want to write?" somebody might say. Or, "What would would you like to write about?" is another version. Nick Charles provided the answer during his interview with Joe Posnanski.

Posnanski went to see Charles because Charles was dying and both men knew it. As their time together was ending and Posnanski was headed for the car, they had this exchange:

Nick: "Do you know what you're going to write about me?"

Joe: "No, not yet."

Nick: "Will the words just come to you?"

Joe: "I don't know. I hope so."

Nick: "I'll bet they will. I love it when words come to me."

And there it was - "I love it when words come to me." That's why I write. I want to say something, to feel something. I want the reader to feel something, to imagine something, to connect with what I've written. Not for my sake; not because I wrote it, but because, in sharing the written word, maybe we'll experience an affirmation of a previously unspoken certainty.

Like I did when I read Charles' statement.

I recommend that you read Posnanski's article, even if sports isn't your thing. But be ready feel something - the words came.

Concerning Jim Tressel

Pretend you are somebody else. But not for just a moment or for a prank. Pretend for years that you are somebody else. Can you do it? Former head football coach Jim Tressel did.

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel resigned Monday after nearly 6 months of questions, suspensions, and suspicions. The final straw that finally got his employer, Ohio State, to pressure him enough to quit was the Sports Illustrated column that I just finished reading.

It is a damning document that paints Tressel as complicit in NCAA infractions, lying to keep the NCAA and Ohio State in the dark, and putting up a facade of ethical, even Christian behavior.

From the ESPN column by Pat Forde concerning Tressel:

"And now Tressel has been forced out of his dream job, one of the top five in America. If he's honest with himself, Tressel must wonder today how much easier life would have been if he'd just done the right thing when he got that first email warning him that his players were breaking the rules.

But this has been a lie-and-deny operation from the beginning, and now it ends with Jim Tressel's meticulously polished reputation in tatters."

Instead of heeding the Henry Kissenger maxim "whatever must be revealed eventually, should be revealed immediately," Tressel fell back on his fine, button-downed reputation and covered for his players.

More from Forde:
"When the revelations of sold memorabilia and comped tattoos from an alleged drug trafficker first came to light in December, this was all about the players who broke rules and scoffed at Ohio State traditions. Tressel, at that time, was the blindsided guardian of standards and scruples who was disappointed that his players would do such a thing.

What a charade that turned out to be. Tressel knew for months what his players had done, and hadn't told any of his supposed superiors at Ohio State. When emails made that clear in March -- when the coach was cornered -- the school lamely offered up a two-game suspension in 2011."

As bad as all this is, we've seen cheating coaches before, not to mention other boorish behavior from these guys who are supposed to be teaching young people. However, with the garden variety cheat, he doesn't usually make a show of being clean. He just tries to avoid getting caught. Tressel's not like that. He was selling honesty, Elmer Gantry-like, while he was watching the program rot. The troubling thing is his deliberate charade.

The sweater vest, the tie, the pressed shirt, the Bible reading and texting of Psalms. All of it designed to make outsiders think he was clean when he wasn't. It's the calculated deceit that really gets me, I guess. This dude is cold.

And, for me, it makes it hard to care about college sports very much. I thought I had an idea what they were about. Now, I'm doubting it.

Happy Days. Not.

I'll tell you what - it's a bad time to be a fan of the Cardinals, Seahawks and Celtics. I don't even want to look at the sports and see if there is any news about the Blues.

Today, the Cardinals found out for sure that ace pitcher Adam Wainwright is done throwing baseballs off a big league mound for at least 12 months and probably more. He has ligament damage in the elbow which requires surgery whereby the damaged ligament is removed from the elbow and tendon from the non-throwing arm is grafted in. It's called Tommy John surgery, named for the pitcher who first had it done. A story on the Cardinals website today said Wainwright needed Tommy John and I wisecracked that the Cardinals team needed Tommy John. As in the pitcher. Even though he's 67 years old. His elbow is probably still in good shape.

As for the Celtics, they traded away Kendrick Perkins, a center, today. I listened to the analysis on ESPN.com and none of the experts can figure out what the Celtics were thinking. Their one big advantage over teams like Miami was lots of bigs. Now they got rid of one. I'm no expert but when the real experts don't know what you are doing, it's not good.

As for the Seahawks, well, no news today, though there will probably be an NFL lockout. But they remain a team with an unproven coach and a roster in flux and no high draft picks and an aging quarterback.

This could be a long, dark time for the Cardinal-Seahawk-Celtic fan. And you know who you are.