Different teams, different crossroads

The trade deadline, fast approaching in Major League Baseball, is often about patching up holes as teams make runs at the playoffs, while lesser teams try to get lucky with a prospect or draft pick, rather than letting their better players go. In the summer, the teams are interested in retooling for the long haul.

This is where the biggest trades tend to happen, when franchise cornerstones are moved. There haven't been too many big moves this off-season, given how so many teams are using the Vegas Golden Knights to alleviate salary cap issues, but I suspect that will change in the next few weeks.

The Wild have a stated goal of getting at least one more NHL quality pivot after they flamed out, unable to score nearly as much as they needed against the St. Louis Blues and Brian Elliott. The Wild are very nearly at the talent crest of their core, and after extending Nino Niederreiter and Mikael Granlund, would do well to ensure that whatever piece they do lock up will be one that will help them win in the near term.

The Wild have already attempted to free up some space under the cap, and have added physical wingers in Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno, but they would do well to explore trades with teams that are still up and coming. With a deep, young defensive unit, dealing a defensemen in order to add a center would seem like a good investment.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of those up and coming teams, and they have the talented James van Riemsdyk entering the final year of a contract on a team with a young core that is still a couple of years away. This is a team that could use a more stable presence on the blue line in support of all the firepower at the forward positions. Van Riemsdyk spends his offseasons in Minnesota, and would undoubtedly appreciate a move to the Wild, if one came about, and the Leafs, lkely to lose him anyway, would appreciate some sort of return, especially the type that the Wild could offer.

These are two teams, the Wild and Maple Leafs, that are reaching a critical juncture. The Wild need to get over the top, while the Maple Leafs need to tool up to continue their momentum as the team develops and gets better. Both may pair up at some point in the off-season, though even if a move for 30 goal scorer van Riemsdyk doesn't happen, you can be sure both teams are working hard to achieve the goals that such a move would achieve.

Floyd Mayweather isn't afraid

Floyd Mayweather might be one of the most detestable people in the sports world. He is transparently greedy, passively bigoted and worst of all, physically abusive. That last trait is more reprehensible because of what he is so good at. He may be the best pound for pound boxer ever, and he has never been afraid to prove it.

For the last half decade or so, Mayweather has been heavily criticized for his acceptance of fights like the one next month against UFC star Conor McGregor, or the delay before fighting Philippine superstar Manny Pacquiao, as they seem more like cash grabs and less like real tests of Mayweather's ability. No doubt that they were.

The early part of Floyd Mayweather's boxing career was tainted by controversy not of his own doing. Mayweather entered the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as a Featherweight, fighting through American competition to qualify. He beat a pair of opponents from the former Soviet Union, and struggled against Cuban Lorenzo Aragon. I

The fact that Mayweather was the first American to beat a Cuban boxer in 20 years was lost by the fact that he could only claim bronze after falling to Bulgarian Serafim Todorov, in a fight that was marked by corruption and judicial inadequacy. The decision was, and still is heavily disputed.

Naturally disenfranchised with the amateur boxing landscape, Mayweather went professional, and was nearly unstoppable in a longer match setting. His defensive ability allowed him to wear down opponents and keep progressing towards championship belts. When he would win a belt, he would subsequently make a move up in weight class, fighting bigger opponents, often undersized.

Floyd Mayweather's progression up the weight classes continued until he decided to retire for the first time in 2007, more than a decade after his trip to the Olympics, without a professional loss to his name. His move up through the weight classes, without a loss, earned him the title of the greatest pound for pound boxer of all time. At his size, there was nothing left for him to prove.

After a short time out of boxing, he came back. This would begin a long period of Mayweather's career, which was marked by a handful of retirements and comebacks. Moe often than not, his return would be against a well known name in boxing, or a belt holder at some class or a well known name among boxing fans. Perhaps the retirements were a gambit to earn more money, because he started getting 10s of millions of dollars to come back and fight. He earned more than 30 million to come back to fight Canelo Alvarez, who was the light middleweight champion at that point.

In the last few years, Mayweather has been criticized for the matchups he has taken with Pacquiao and McGregor, as if the intimation is that Mayweather is scared of real competition, or is only in it for the money. Mayweather proved to the world that he was the best when he was in his prime. There really isn't anything left to prove. Floyd Mayweather has a great variety of character flaws and has done a many terrible things, but one criticism he does not deserve is that he is intimidated by other fighters, or didn't maximize his potential. He's a world class asshole, but he isn't a chicken. 

You need players in the MLS

One thing that you'll notice from the top of the MLS aggregate table is that the top three clubs all have one important thing in common: An international superstar that headlines everything. In first, Bastian Schweinsteiger leads the way for Chicago. Toronto has Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore while NYCFC leans on David Silva, among others.
While soccer is, in general, a fluid team game, it is apparent that having a premier talent, really at any level of the pitch, is intrinsic to the success of any club. The salary structure of the MLS almost necessitates such a move.
Most domestic players must fall within a low salary cap figure, however rosters are also populated with designated players, which don't need to be confined by those same strict rules, and allows American clubs to compete with big money international organizations. There is some level of roster building that allows for clubs to build from within, but the best players will always be compelled to follow the money, which is often found abroad. The differentiator, then, is the designated players.
As a result, the teams that are willing to spend the most on a handful of the best players are going to be the squads that have the best chance of success. Having one or two elite positions is going to elevate any squad to the top of the league, as has been the case in Chicago, Toronto and New York this year, but has been in the past with Los Angeles and Seattle. The right thing for any struggling thing to do is keep their ears to the ground to find a player that is ready to move to America after a long career in Europe, like Schweinsteiger, or to snap up a young player from South America ready to make their move on the international scene. Francisco Calvo might just be the best player for Minnesota United, and the Costa Rican is playing for the first time outside of Central America.
There will continue to be nuance in filling out the roster for most franchises, even those that have star players. Following the Compass team NYCFC has Silva, but has been graced by the addition of Alexander Ring this year, and will need to find a suitable replacement for injured Ronald Matarrita during this month's transfer window. Undoubtedly, the supporting cast is an important reason why they are near the top of MLS this season, but it is Silva that puts them over the top.

Maybe it hasn't been so bad, Purdue!

In a recent article about the audacious ambitions of the University of Kansas's football team. Players there believe that they have what it takes to be Bowl eligible by the end of the year. You can laugh and say that sounds preposterous, and , well, more than you know. Take a peek at this line:

College football’s defending national champion, Clemson, won as many games last year (14) as the Jayhawks have in the post-Mangino era.

Holy buckets. To make things worse, Mangino, after starting the 2007 season 5-0, they lost the final 7 games of the year. So that's 14 wins in 7 1/2 seasons. Just when you think that your team is the worst ever, something like this comes along.

Purdue, in the abysmal Danny Hope/Darrell Hazell years from 2010-2016, won 26 games. Nice! 12 more for Purdue than Kansas! Even in the 9 win Hazell regime was more successful than Kansas during that time period.

And, yes, this is still sour grapes after Kansas throttled Purdue in the NCAA Tournament back in March.

How much does Blackburn need to gut themselves?

This season wasn't the most painful in Blackburn Rovers history, primarily because most Rovers fans have been resigned to the fate that has befallen the squad since Indian poultry company Venky's purchased the team in 2010, driving the organization to depths they haven't seen in generations.
No, this was not the saddest season, because it was expected, but this was likely the worst team that the Rovers have had in decades. They were relegated to the third level of English soccer for the first time since 1980, and are the first team that has won the Premier League to drop two full tiers... ever.
The money is simply not the same in League One, even as compared to the Championship. The transfer window is now open, and the Rovers are going to have to shave payroll.They are sitting at a payroll of 14.9 million pounds, which is the highest valuation in the league, and more than twice as much as all but 3 squads. It's three times more than 18 other squads in their division. TV revenues are nonexistent and the ticket sales will be vastly different than they were in the Championship. Unless Venky's are willing to take a bath this season as they try to get back into the Championship, expect some serious cuts. Just to adhere to Fair Play rules, they will have to cut a few million dollars.
Getting back to the Championship will not be as easy as saying that the team will be better than the competition this year, because they were a level above last year. There was Championship caliber talent on the squad in 2016-17, but that talent will likely remain in the Championship, but with different teams. There will be a complete reimagination of the chemistry of the 2017-18 team, depending on who they are left with at Ewood Park.
As July 1st dons on us in the United States, the free agency period begins for the NBA and NHL, transfer season begins for soccer across the world. The difference is that for the NBA and NHL, especially in Minnesota, fans will monitor all the players coming in. Blackburn fans like myself will see just how fast players head out the door.

Butler: The gateway job

Everyone I know was fairly startled to hear that Thad Matta was being replaced as the head coach at Ohio State. He's been very successful, and there were no rumors of his impending departure, while the timing, early June, was also quite unusual. It was no surprise, however, to see the Buckeyes go to Indianapolis and Butler University to find their next coach, Chris Holtmann.
Since 1989, when Joe Sexson retired, the only coach not to leave Butler for a better hob (where "better job" means a larger conference or the NBA) was Brandon Miller, who departed with a medical condition, and did not return after one season on the job. Let's run through the list.
First, it was Barry Collier, who, after leading Butler to their first NCAA tournaments in 35 years, left the Bulldogs to take over at Nebraska. Thad Matta (small world) then took over for a year before headed off to Xavier, where his tenure was also brief before getting the job at Ohio State. Next was Todd Lickliter, who took a job with Iowa after reaching the Sweet 16 with the Bulldogs for the second time. Brad Stevens outdid Lickliter's accomplishments by bringing Butler to the NCAA Championship game, losing both times, but securing a job with the Boston Celttics. After Brandon Miller was unable to continue, we had Chris Holtmann, who is now with the Buckeyes.
How did this happen? How did Butler become such a breeding ground of excellent coaches? Some of it must certainly be the location, in the heart of where basketball in nearly a religion. Heck, Hinkle Fieldhouse, home of the Bulldogs, is where Hoosiers was filmed. Naturally, an Indiana school should be able to develop great basketball talent. Not only has this happened at the 3 major conference schools, but also at Indiana State, Valparaiso and Evansville, but never with the sustained success that Butler has.
Valparaiso might come closest, but one can point to their reliance on the Drew family for that. And Homer never left, like the coaches in Butler's lineage. A lot of credit needs to be attributed to Collier, I would posit. It's easy to recruit big names when you have some initial success, and it's even easier to hire good head coaches when you can simply promote the talented assistant's that your departing coach hired.
Collier had post season appearances in 3 of his final 4 seasons at Butler, and had two very good assistants in his last few years: Thad Matta and Todd Lickliter. When Lickliter took over, he hired young, eager eyed Brad Stevens. Brandon Miller came back to Butler, he was the first coach since Collier not to be directly promoted after serving on the staff the season before. He had been an assistant at Illinois, and brought Chris Holtmann from Gardner-Webb to coach. By that point, the lineage and tradition of success started when Collier took over had been established. It was easier to recruit talent.
Oh, and do you know who has hired the last three head coaches? Collier is the athletic director at Butler, and has been since 2006. Bob Collier might just be a coaching genius, and one that doesn't get enough credit.

Selling out

Usually, when a young fan or artist shames another for "selling out" there is a hint of jealousy. The sell-outer, if I can coin a term, generally sees their music and style change as much because they are introduced to better technology and production values as they are changing their own point of view to align with what the market demands.

The Go Go's really sold out though. It's hard to believe, listening to their catalogue of hits that they started as a punk band in southern California. Belinda Carlisle is on record as being heavily involved in the punk scene, and has been very open about, shall we say, how, involvedshe was.

The smash hit of the early popular era Go Go's was probably We Got the Beat, which is decidedly not punk. It's fun, catchy and almost airheaded. It seems as though the women who made up the Go Go's, had they heard the song a few years earlier, would have hated it. What happened?

Punk fans might say that The Go Go's sold out. Musically, by the 80's and especially with Carlisle when she went solo by the middle of the decade, that was certainly the case. Unlike many that have sold out, they didn't sell their souls, just their style. To coin a phrase, the Go Go's were still punk on the inside.

There was some remnant of punk in the pacing of their earlier work. Carlisle's voice was too pure, too melodic to withstand the harsher elements of her punk contemporaries. If you listen to the backing base in their music, however, you will hear a faster beat than you might initially anticipate. Taken independently, Carlisle's vocals don't seem to make much sense with the instrumentals, but the ultimate reason for their national success was that the elements do indeed all come together, which is a credit to their songwriting.

Carlisle's name stayed in the public consciousness as she continued to top the charts with mainstream songs like "Heaven is a Place on Earth." Carlisle wasn't even in rock anymore, let alone punk. She had turned pop, doing the improbable, selling out two different genres.

Undoubtedly, selling out has its tangible benefits. You likely never would have heard of the Go Go's had it not been for their pop turn. Belinda Carlisle would never have articles written about her use of a private terminal in Los Angeles. For punk stars turned pop stars, though, there is one definite advantage to selling out: gaining a bigger platform.

Punk is the original version of alternative music. Whether it's the 70s' Go Go's or the 90s' Green Day,

the groups had something in common. They sought to differentiate themselves musically from the staid music of their particular generation. In their view, there was something wrong with music as it was popularly consumed, and they strived to make their own brand of art.

Innate in their sense of the world is the idea that there was something wrong with the status quo. As they mature, they grow into principled adulthood. Perhaps their views don't align with yours, but they are comfortable with speaking out against injustice, perceived or otherwise after a lifetime of fighting against the establishment, albeit a more open minded music making establishment.

One thing the Go Go's never stepped back from, even if their sound changed, was their willingness to be outspoken on things that mattered to them. Carlisle, in particular, has been an activist for PETA, gay rights (particularly when her son came out) and against the current presidential administration. A quick check of her Twitter feed reveals a nearly steady stream of activism.

The Go Go's certainly sold out musically, but with their co-opting a pop music sound, and Carlisle veering towards the sound of some contemporary divas, but with it came a broader platform. If they had stayed within the LA punk scene, they may never have continued a music career that lasted for decades. Their message, especially when they found their message fueled in outreach and activism, would not have changed any minds or hearts.

In the ways that truly matter, the Go Go's never truly sold out. They kept their counterculture principles which dovetailed into a humanitarian activism in their adulthood. They continued to speak out for issues they were passionate about. Indeed, selling out musically was a means to an end. Not only did the Go Go's prove that a group of women could make music together, they also showed the world how to sell out properly.