Spare the rod?

Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. - Proverbs 13:24

On July 28, 2013 the Miami Marlins hitting coach and former All-Star caliber player Tito Martinez resigned due to allegations of being excessively abusive. Rookie second baseman Derek Dietrich submitted a complaint stating that Tito grabbed him by the neck chain during practice. Apparently, Martinez has been using "intimidation" for some time now. He even used abusive language and had previous complaints from other players. Obviously, Martinez's tactics didn't provide any kind of spark for his players other than adding incentives toward complaining. Currently the Marlins are in last place in scoring. The question here really is did Tito Martinez cross the line? 

Discipline is not a nasty word. - Pat Riley

Pat Riley, the Hall of Fame coach and general manager ran notoriously gruesome practices focusing on his philosophy of defense. These practices weren't for the faint of heart and Riley never backed down from any player, in fact, he once threw Shaquille O'Neal out of a practice. This was not a coach who had any fear of a player complaint. Riley's stern example of discipline led him to coach 5 NBA championship teams while adding another two titles as the Miami Heat's general manager. Riley's coaching influence remains with the Miami Heat even today. His protege, Eric Spoelstra's defensive style is a virtual mirror of his mentor's. One could even call this defensive mindedness originated by Riley the very DNA of the team. 

I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something good in men that really yearns for discipline.  -Vince Lombardi

Arguably the greatest football coach of all time, Vince Lombardi was no stranger to enforcing discipline when needed. Lombardi would commonly state, "Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect." Note the use of  the phrase "perfect practice". Lombardi knew the path to winning championships would come from a hard-edged style founded in grueling training camps and absolute dedication and effort from his players. His Green Bay packers would become one of the most envied franchises of the 60's leading them to five NFL championships.

But, when does being a tough coach cross the line into being an abusive coach?

Mike Rice the former head coach for the Rutgers basketball team, was fired for being overly abusive. Rice did cross that line resulting to juvenile prejudicial laced slurs and he was overly physically confrontational to these players. What makes this even worse was in the fact that Rice was working and molding the minds of boys on the verge of growing into men. There wasn't any meaningful lesson learned; there was only this violation of trust. What's lost with this style of coaching philosophy (if you can call it that) is the deeper understanding where garnering the respect of your players is absolutely necessary when producing a tough discipline based program and there wasn't any of that. A true leader has to earn the respect of his players just as much as they have to earn his. This video illustrates the thin line between a healthy dose of discipline to that of abuse being crossed:

Anyway, back to the original story, did the Marlins hitting coach Tito Martinez have to resign? He probably should have been let go due to poor job performance, but unless his strong language involved racist slurs or if he physically assaulted his players (grabbing a neck chain is a little over the top, but not like actually kicking or punching someone), he probably should have stayed the course.

Perhaps Tito should have "spared the rod" in his case, he simply wasn't able to develop any kind of trust or respect among his players and frankly this lack of leadership showed on the scoreboard at the end of each game. And, that is the larger tragedy for the Miami Marlins this 2013 season.

Respect is a two-way street, if you want to get it, you've got to give it. 
- R. G. Risch

PEDS, a Icarus Complex or a Question of Character?

The tragic story of Icarus as told by Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles).

"...with melting wax and loosened strings Sunk hapless Icarus on unfaithful wings; Headlong he rushed through the affrighted air, With limbs distorted and disheveled hair; His scattered plumage danced upon the wave, And sorrowing Nereids decked his watery grave; O'er his pale corpse their pearly sea-flowers shed, And strewed with crimson moss his marble bed; Struck in their coral towers the passing bell, And wide in ocean tolled his echoing knell."

I often think of the athletes accused and eventually found guilty of using PEDS (performance enhancing drugs) as being a modern day version of tragic Icarus. A "Icarus complex" if you will. Icarus already had flight, but it wasn't enough, he had to fly as close to sun as possible ignoring his father Daedalus' warnings. Similarly, these athletes were already gifted and yet just excelling in their sport wasn't enough, they had to break records sooner than later. One of the tragedies, however, was in the fact these records would have been guaranteed later for most who decided to resort to PEDS. This PED "shortcut" not only cost them their careers but also their reputations. 

Here's a perfect recent example, On July 23, 2013 Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun was suspended by MLB (Major League Baseball) for the remainder of the 2013 season ultimately due to failing a blood test. Braun, was ranked number seven by the Sporting News in its 2012 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, and was the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2011. The obvious question here is whether if Braun was a legitimate MVP in 2011, or was this feat accomplished under the influence of PEDS? Either way, here's a obviously talented player, who just had to reach a little bit higher, stretching out his hand yearning for that sun and even though the warnings were in place, he was burned.

Barry Bonds is considered of the greatest baseball players of all time, and he consistently hit over 30 home runs and stole over 40 bases each year before any alleged use of steroids. A 14 time All Star, 8 time Gold Glove winner, won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player 7 times, 4 of which were in consecutive years, not to mention most career home runs (762), and the most home runs in a single season (73). Surely here's a first ballot Hall of Famer if ever there was one. One of the most gifted athletes of his generation and yet he too had a "Icarus complex".  He just had to reach out for that burning sun and the end result? He was convicted of obstruction of justice where he lied to a grand jury by testifying he never knowingly took any illegal steroids. This "sure fire" first ballot Hall of Famer as a result did not make it in...yet.

This isn't just a issue with the MLB, the problem with PEDS extends to nearly all sports in one form or another.

From "Hero to Zero"...

Who can forget the "interview" with Oprah? Lance Armstrong, a man who was widely admired, 7 time Tour de France winner, a cancer survivor and he even founded "Livestrong" a worldwide charitable organization which supports cancer patients. Lance Armstrong really was seen as this iconic hero, a symbol portraying that any obstacle can be overcome, even testicular cancer. However, he lied about his use of PEDS (in his specific case "doping") from the 1990s to 2005. The larger betrayal for his fans may have been more in the fact that he continued this lie for as long as he did and how hard he fought against these allegations, further duping those who supported him, than his actual use of PEDS.

Going Global...

It's the 1994 World Championships in Rome, unbelievably China wins 12 out of 16 total gold medals. This immediately began to cast suspicion among the international community as this was a team whose dominance didn't begin until the 1990s. And, even more notably, this domination wasn't a gradual buildup through decades of training programs but rather, this was sudden. This "super" team went on to steal the 1994 Asian games as well. Eventually, the suspicions were confirmed and the team was stripped of all medals. This example of an "Icarus complex" doesn't just lend itself to individuals, but entire countries apparently. 

Bouncing ball turning into "Bulging" ball...

The NBA has been known to be generally free of PEDS, however, some suspect this is because testing has been weak. Yet, in February 2013, Orlando Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu was suspended for 20 games by the NBA after testing positive for steroids. In 2011, Chicago Bulls' point guard, Derrick Rose, when asked about a potential PED problem in the NBA, gave this answer "...it's huge, and I think we need a level playing field, where nobody has that advantage over the next person." However, in a follow up a couple hours later, Rose then stated, "But, let me be clear, I do not believe there is a performance enhancing drug problem in the NBA." Really? Which is it? I suspect NBA players aren't immune to this "Icarus complex", or at least Hedo isn't.

Why does having a "will to win" translate to some as "by any means necessary"? This isn't just about a "risk versus reward" scenario, with PEDS it's more about taking a risk where none is warranted. Shouldn't being a great athlete also have an equal measure of character as well as ability? How is having to lie about taking a PED a standard of having a good character or even common sense? How does this set up a good example for those who follow in their foot steps? 

Wisdom of Wooden...

Indeed, as John Wooden (legendary UCLA coach) said, "character to keep you there". Even with PEDS, an athlete's career is brief, it's this strength of character that can truly sustain him/her long after their career has ended. 

From Russia with Love...

The new collective bargaining agreement for the NBA was supposed to help to produce parity between teams by adding a hefty luxury tax penalty to those teams who exceed the agreed upon salary cap. However, the larger the market for a NBA team the more likely the owner will be willing to pay this additional luxury tax in order to keep or build a championship caliber team. However, there is a limit even to the billionaire owners and this tax does get more excessive the further you go beyond the salary cap, in fact, this was the main reasoning behind the decision for the Miami Heat to release fan favorite Mike Miller. Had the Heat chosen to keep Miller, they would have had to pay the league an additional 30 million in luxury tax (that's 30 million on top of their current salary).

Yet, what happens in the case where you have a owner who has a strong enough passion as a fan along with deeper pockets than most if not all other NBA owners? Enter in Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire owner of the Brooklyn Nets. In 2011, Mikhail Prokhorov was the third richest person in Russia with $18 billion and the 39th richest person in the world. Coming into 2013, the Brooklyn Nets' lead story isn't just in the fact they signed future Hall of Famer and rookie head coach Jason Kidd, but rather in the fact they signed Keven Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. These multiple All Stars will play alongside the already formidable duo of Brook Lopez & Deron Williams. The projected payroll for this team loaded of current and relevant All Stars will be in excess of 100 million, meaning Prokhorov will have to pay an additional 80 million in luxury tax, or a total yearly payroll of 180 million. While other teams are looking to cut down their luxury tax obligations, Prokhorov looks to keep adding to it.

"I'm saying Deron Williams for MVP, with the pieces we have here ... There's something in the air here that says the Brooklyn Nets will be the NBA champions next year," Terry said. Jason Terry may be right.

Mikhail Prokhorov says he wasn't about to wait in line for a championship, and that he doesn't mind spending $100 million in salaries and another $80 million in luxury taxes next season if that’s what it takes. “They’re still counting money in back office,” Prokhorov said.

Indeed "still counting money" and when you can simply out spend your competitors who's to stop the Nets next year other than possibly team chemistry? Buying a super team doesn't always necessitate a champion. For example, look at what happened to the Lakers last year. We'll see if this a "From Russia with Love" success story for Brooklyn or the Los Angeles' version of a "Nightmare on Elm Street" horror story of last year. Only time will tell.

Mike Miller, "Mr Clutch" Moving On Due to Amnesty Clause...

Mike Miller came to the Miami Heat after recently winning the NBA's 6th man of the year. A deadly assassin from range with a legendary practice regimen often caught on video. A player who could do it all, not only shoot but also the ability see the floor as well as most point guards and a solid re-bounder. Miller was a highly sought after free agent in 2010 but he decided to bypass much more lucrative options (some most likely as a starter) for the chance to play for a championship contender, well, there's no question he made the right decision. Three straight NBA finals, two straight NBA titles, Miller will go down as one of the most beloved Miami Heat players of all-time.

And here's why... it's game 5 of the 2012 NBA finals and who was the player to close out the Kevin Durant led extremely talented Oklahoma City Thunder? Lebron James? Dwayne Wade?  Actually it was this hobbled nearly forgotten 3 point specialist who looked like a 90 year old man who lost his walker.  And, even though he could barely stand due to intense back pain, he went on to become that game's standout gladiator nailing 7 three pointers and hammering in a final nail into this young team's coffin. This was typical Mike Miller during his stay with the Heat. A champion who's will exceeded the limits of his body.

Flash forward the next year...it's game 6 of the 2013 NBA finals the Miami Heat was down by double digits to the 4-time champion San Antonio Spurs entering into the 4th quarter. Suddenly a dramatic come back begins with this 3 point specialist who just lost his sneaker. Mike Miller not only makes that clutch three point sans his left shoe, he plays several minutes in a sock making sure the Heat doesn't lose it's new-found momentum before a time out was called. This game 6 turned out to become one of the all-time great finales in NBA finals history and even though it would be Ray Allen who would save the day with his last second 3 pointer propelling the Heat into overtime, Miller was one of the unquestioned initiators (and without a sneaker one of the most memorable) of this historic 4th quarter come back.

So effective was Miller in the NBA finals he actually connected on over 60% of his 3 point attempts in both the 2012 & 2013 championships. When Miller was on the court, he played with a furious type of abandonment belying any physical pain he may have experienced and we would only see the evidence of this pain during time outs or free throw attempts. At times when nailing a series of three pointers, Miller seemed to be more of a machine than a man. On July 16, 2013 the  Miami Heat, due to concerns of extended luxury tax, had to part ways with this fan favorite 3 point specialist, he was clutch when the Heat needed it and now he's gone. And now, begins a new chapter in the life of this long range assassin, many of the Heat's rivals will be involved in a frantic scramble to sign him. This also signals the need for a replacement, as the Heat's three point specialists, a necessary component to the make up of this team, are aging rapidly. As fans, we can only wish Miller well in his new venture and hope (when he does have a chance to play for another team) he isn't as clutch against us as he was with us.