The problem is not Bryson. The problem is too many people don't care. Very similar to the other narcissist you write about under the "stick to sports not" category.
David Bell is a nice guy but I am not sure he's the right person to lead the Reds back to the playoffs. Other than the shortened season due to COVID he's had a lackluster managerial career. Granted not had a lot to work with in years past but can you tell me Ellie's defense is going to improve? I mean how many guys improve defensively once they get to the majors. The teams fundamentals have gotten worse year over year. They may not need a strict disciplinarian but they sure as hell need a guy that understands the importance of basic fundamentals like, oh I don't know, like don't get picked off base game after game?
I like your stuff, Doc, and I'm not really a sports guy. I am very peripheral in the sports department and all this cash makes me glad I am. I'm sick of sports, sports, sports! Contrary to what many believe, sports is NOT life. LIFE is life and sports is just a small part of it.
I've always liked Bell, but I agree. His acceptance of mediocrity has now become counterproductive to the Reds success. Maybe he doesn't put heat on the players because there is no heat on him? I think that needs to change and it may be time for a change if DB doesn't adjust.
You've written exactly what I have felt about Bell and the Reds for the last few years. Many people today have become comfortable with mediocrity, and don't want to put in the effort to improve themselves or the world around them. Sometimes people need a good kick in the a$$ to make progress.
I totally agree with your tune comment that obscure doesn't mean bad. Here is a great song (similar to the classic movie) about an aging superstar. It is by City Boy, my favorite obscure band.
I’m neither a Bell hater nor a Bell advocate. He’s just too vanilla to go either way on. I see his good points but I also see his blemishes. My biggest fear is that David Bell would much prefer that his players like him more than he likes winning.
I think it was Billy Bean who said “I hate losing even more than I love winning.”. I fear that D Bell hates the thought of not being liked than he loves winning. I truly believe that he wants to win, the same way Mike Brown wants to win, but there are things more important than winning. They’ll never admit it publicly, but it’s apparent.
D Bell is a very good person. That is undeniable. But like Marvin Lewis, he may have taken this team as far as he is capable. It’s time for some accountability, and he’s just not willing to go there.
I’ll 2nd Scott Rolen as the next manager. He would be way better than B Larkin. I sure hope Phil and the boys don’t go that route, but I think we are stuck with Mr Fine for the long run.
Bell is a babysitter, not a manager. The players need to be told when they don’t perform. So does Bell, because he’s not performing either. Get in their face Bell. DLC needs to be sent down until he learns how to play defense without errors. He plays like a college kid, not a well paid pro. The Reds are a minor league team playing with minor league players and a minor league Manager.
I am one who railed against paying college athletes since Day One for all the reasons now occurring. Hardly anybody agreed with me over the last 20 years of TML, Doc included, or anywhere else. I thought the handwriting on the wall was so obvious it couldn't miss hitting ya in the head. I feel no joy in being right. In fact, I'm shaking my head as I type this. It seemed so clear this whole ridiculous scenario would happen immediately. It has devolved into madness.
I stumped for limited payments of equal amounts for all players on a team, to be paid them upon graduation. I thought $5,000 a year seemed reasonable. You leave college with an extra $20,000 and maybe a degree. But no payments were allowable in my proposed system until graduation. My idea seems quaint, naive, and silly now.
But what I most foresaw was the end of college sports as amateurism, and the loss of the tremendous importance of that role. We most loved college sports up till recently because they WEREN'T the world of hardened, jaded paid players. They were kids playing the game they loved for fun, honor, a free education, some decent perks on the side, and maybe a payday down the road. They were also playing for their school, with pride. Now it's a nightmare of insanity, broken promises, and me-first.
Justice is indeed slippery. I was sufficiently moved by notion of over endowed universities stuffing their fat faces with the grub that the athletes put on their plates to have been in favor of compensation. But I should have known it wouldn't be done in moderation, or to right a wrong. And that it would be used as a springboard for further isolation between haves and have nots. Some of us are slow learners
Sadly, they could have used these windfall profits to do good things, such as lower tuitions, thus making "higher" education more available to all. Instead the a$$fart Boards are acting like corporate boards, chasing profits over people. Colleges will rue these days down the road. Some will go bankrupt chasing the almighty dollar in a free-for-all atmosphere. A lot of sports programs will dry up and blow away because they aren't the richest and baddest. Who's gonna cheer on and support a 0-12 semi pro football team sponsored by Loser U? I predict cheating, points shaving, and gambling will be along soon and spread like covid. It's a mess, and it's only gonna get worse. It's already in progress. Putting the cart in front of the horse doesn't work. The NCAA was the only defense against all this, and it's been disbanded. It's another case of short sighted decisions leading to long term disaster. As Swigs said, there's no accounting for stupidity.
I was there all along on not paying. In fact, I felt their classes should have been like my own, moderated so each class served towards an end, mapped out and approved by advisors. Lol
Same way I feel when a pro athlete holds out for a new contract when he is still under contract. I am sure the athlete was ecstatic when they signed the contract that they now want ripped up. I long for the days when people lived up to their word.
Doc, I'll NEVER stop watching and rooting for the Reds. It's one of the best things is when the kids come over for dinner or to hang out with their OG Dad, if a Reds game is on, we all watch it together and yell at the TV. We've been doing that since they were young.
A Bearcat fan since the Armory Fieldhouse days. Still have FB season tickets but the $$$ is souring me on what made College FB great. It's a shame that $$$ seems to ruin ever
Totally agree on Bell. Great guy, but his nice guy shtick is getting old. We may set a record for getting picked off, if it exists. They're not kids, they're professional ball players, and constantly repeating the same errors are unacceptable.
The problem is not Bryson. The problem is too many people don't care. Very similar to the other narcissist you write about under the "stick to sports not" category.
David Bell is a nice guy but I am not sure he's the right person to lead the Reds back to the playoffs. Other than the shortened season due to COVID he's had a lackluster managerial career. Granted not had a lot to work with in years past but can you tell me Ellie's defense is going to improve? I mean how many guys improve defensively once they get to the majors. The teams fundamentals have gotten worse year over year. They may not need a strict disciplinarian but they sure as hell need a guy that understands the importance of basic fundamentals like, oh I don't know, like don't get picked off base game after game?
I like your stuff, Doc, and I'm not really a sports guy. I am very peripheral in the sports department and all this cash makes me glad I am. I'm sick of sports, sports, sports! Contrary to what many believe, sports is NOT life. LIFE is life and sports is just a small part of it.
I've always liked Bell, but I agree. His acceptance of mediocrity has now become counterproductive to the Reds success. Maybe he doesn't put heat on the players because there is no heat on him? I think that needs to change and it may be time for a change if DB doesn't adjust.
You've written exactly what I have felt about Bell and the Reds for the last few years. Many people today have become comfortable with mediocrity, and don't want to put in the effort to improve themselves or the world around them. Sometimes people need a good kick in the a$$ to make progress.
I totally agree with your tune comment that obscure doesn't mean bad. Here is a great song (similar to the classic movie) about an aging superstar. It is by City Boy, my favorite obscure band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuPsb8-_hJc
I’m neither a Bell hater nor a Bell advocate. He’s just too vanilla to go either way on. I see his good points but I also see his blemishes. My biggest fear is that David Bell would much prefer that his players like him more than he likes winning.
I think it was Billy Bean who said “I hate losing even more than I love winning.”. I fear that D Bell hates the thought of not being liked than he loves winning. I truly believe that he wants to win, the same way Mike Brown wants to win, but there are things more important than winning. They’ll never admit it publicly, but it’s apparent.
D Bell is a very good person. That is undeniable. But like Marvin Lewis, he may have taken this team as far as he is capable. It’s time for some accountability, and he’s just not willing to go there.
I’ll 2nd Scott Rolen as the next manager. He would be way better than B Larkin. I sure hope Phil and the boys don’t go that route, but I think we are stuck with Mr Fine for the long run.
Bell is a babysitter, not a manager. The players need to be told when they don’t perform. So does Bell, because he’s not performing either. Get in their face Bell. DLC needs to be sent down until he learns how to play defense without errors. He plays like a college kid, not a well paid pro. The Reds are a minor league team playing with minor league players and a minor league Manager.
Is there someone in the Reds system that can play better than DLC?
I am one who railed against paying college athletes since Day One for all the reasons now occurring. Hardly anybody agreed with me over the last 20 years of TML, Doc included, or anywhere else. I thought the handwriting on the wall was so obvious it couldn't miss hitting ya in the head. I feel no joy in being right. In fact, I'm shaking my head as I type this. It seemed so clear this whole ridiculous scenario would happen immediately. It has devolved into madness.
I stumped for limited payments of equal amounts for all players on a team, to be paid them upon graduation. I thought $5,000 a year seemed reasonable. You leave college with an extra $20,000 and maybe a degree. But no payments were allowable in my proposed system until graduation. My idea seems quaint, naive, and silly now.
But what I most foresaw was the end of college sports as amateurism, and the loss of the tremendous importance of that role. We most loved college sports up till recently because they WEREN'T the world of hardened, jaded paid players. They were kids playing the game they loved for fun, honor, a free education, some decent perks on the side, and maybe a payday down the road. They were also playing for their school, with pride. Now it's a nightmare of insanity, broken promises, and me-first.
I know you. You do feel copious joy on being right.
Justice is indeed slippery. I was sufficiently moved by notion of over endowed universities stuffing their fat faces with the grub that the athletes put on their plates to have been in favor of compensation. But I should have known it wouldn't be done in moderation, or to right a wrong. And that it would be used as a springboard for further isolation between haves and have nots. Some of us are slow learners
Sadly, they could have used these windfall profits to do good things, such as lower tuitions, thus making "higher" education more available to all. Instead the a$$fart Boards are acting like corporate boards, chasing profits over people. Colleges will rue these days down the road. Some will go bankrupt chasing the almighty dollar in a free-for-all atmosphere. A lot of sports programs will dry up and blow away because they aren't the richest and baddest. Who's gonna cheer on and support a 0-12 semi pro football team sponsored by Loser U? I predict cheating, points shaving, and gambling will be along soon and spread like covid. It's a mess, and it's only gonna get worse. It's already in progress. Putting the cart in front of the horse doesn't work. The NCAA was the only defense against all this, and it's been disbanded. It's another case of short sighted decisions leading to long term disaster. As Swigs said, there's no accounting for stupidity.
As Mike Brown used to reason, the good teams need teams to play.
I was there all along on not paying. In fact, I felt their classes should have been like my own, moderated so each class served towards an end, mapped out and approved by advisors. Lol
Same way I feel when a pro athlete holds out for a new contract when he is still under contract. I am sure the athlete was ecstatic when they signed the contract that they now want ripped up. I long for the days when people lived up to their word.
As do I. "True to your word" no longer exists. Allowing that to happen is a gross mistake culturally. It will come back to haunt.
Do not be fooled. Just like Mickelson's act was fake, so is Bryson's.
Possibly
Doc, I'll NEVER stop watching and rooting for the Reds. It's one of the best things is when the kids come over for dinner or to hang out with their OG Dad, if a Reds game is on, we all watch it together and yell at the TV. We've been doing that since they were young.
A Bearcat fan since the Armory Fieldhouse days. Still have FB season tickets but the $$$ is souring me on what made College FB great. It's a shame that $$$ seems to ruin ever
And not to pile on but what in the heck was ever wrong with the always under appreciated Larry Fine?
Doc, are you honestly telling me you would turn your nose up on a fine bottle of Chianti and plate of fava beans?? Just wow.
Does Rory McElroy have another major in him? I hope so; I was rooting for him Sunday.
How did you handle it when an athlete big-timed you after a loss? McElroy should've stuck around.
And finally, does "OG" stand fore "Old Guy," "Original Gangster" or "Obstinate Geezer." May we never become No. 3.
I like your intro this morning. Can I upgrade my subscription to the one with a delivery of a pint of Guinness every day?
No
Oh dang! That was a big ask on my part, I guess.
Totally agree on Bell. Great guy, but his nice guy shtick is getting old. We may set a record for getting picked off, if it exists. They're not kids, they're professional ball players, and constantly repeating the same errors are unacceptable.
Money is ruining sports. Period.
Nailed it again, Doc.
Fine does mean mediocre. At best.