The Clark Spark

Over this past winter, but particularly over the past 6 weeks, there has been overwhelming attention on the University of Iowa women's basketball team and its superstar player, Caitlin Clark.  When I say overwhelming, I mean local and national media outlets covering it as a top story, along with local and national commercials featuring Clark on a near-constant loop.

This attention may be a bit over-the-top, but it's mostly deserved.  Clark has been a uniquely dominant player on a highly successful team, and she's almost single-handedly brought women's basketball to unparalleled heights of popularity.  (Full disclosure:  My spouse was her 7th and 8th grade math teacher, so I may be slightly biased.)

To me, the Clark-mania is very similar to the late 1970s when Larry Bird dominated men's college basketball with his prolific scoring and passing ability, and brought popularity to the game that hadn't been there before.  Among the similarities, it can't be dismissed that both were white players.  Among the differences, Bird did it when few games were even on TV, while Clark's games are seen by millions. 

Clark has handled herself both on and off the court with style and grace -- although often with a little less grace on the court.  Regardless, people want to see her play, and hear what she has to say.  

All of this attention, however, is bringing out some haters.  Success has a way of doing that, as does the ubiquitousness and anonymity of social media, where idiots compete to offer their extreme opinions.

I get why some are tired of Clark.  Her record-breaking performances have been going on for a few months now, as has the attention to her.  I'm even ready for a break now that college basketball season is over.  What I don't get, though, is the hate coming from current and former women's basketball stars.

I'm sure some of it is economics; Clark's play and ensuring stardom have already enriched her well beyond what those other players have earned over many more years.  However, those players don't seem to understand that the rising tide of attention to the game has lifted their financial boats as well.  It's like someone who won't accept a gift, because they felt deserving of more.

I'm also sure that most of it is plain jealousy.  Those veteran Clark-hating women's players are butt-hurt that even though they worked hard to become elite players, nobody paid much attention to them.  So they've resorted to trying to bring down Clark by suggesting she had to win an NCAA championship to be considered great, or some other such nonsense.

Their complaints are pitifully weak, and frankly, make them look like morons.  It's hard to belittle a player who led the nation in scoring and assists two years in a row.  Besides, what makes Clark great isn't just what she does on the court, but HOW she does it.  No one consistently attempted and made 30-foot shots in the college game before.  It's fun to watch.

It remains to be seen how Clark might continue to transform the women's game going forward.  While she changed the college-level game, that will be harder to do in professional basketball, where better players and extra effort will be available to contain her.

While we wait to find out, let's use the time to make fun of the old-school morons who won't simply acknowledge Caitlin Clark as one of the greatest college basketball players of all-time.

Beware The Phog

If I had a written bucket list, which at this time I do not, some of the items would involve attendance at certain sports events and/or sports venues.  I was able to make it to one of those venues this month, Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, home of University of Kansas basketball.

This is possibly the most famous college basketball venue in America.  Its history is magnified by the success of the men's team, which as of this writing has the most wins of any large university, along with several national championships (including last year).

I attended a close game between #14 ranked Iowa State and #2 ranked Kansas, so presumably I experienced everything the venue and crowd had to offer.  So did the visit meet my expectations?  Yes, but not all in a good way.....

When people refer to Allen Fieldhouse (named after former coach Phog Allen), they don't say 'old' they say 'historic' to put lipstick on a pig.  Yes, it has hosted historic games, and even has on display the original first draft of the rules of basketball by the game's creator, James Naismith.  The entrance also doubles as the KU Athletic Hall of Fame, with many trophies and pictures to be seen.

However, 'old' also means 'not contemporary'.  It has mostly uncomfortable fieldhouse seating, with hard-to-get-at wooden bleachers that have you sitting next to the feet of the people behind you.  Let's just say it isn't spectator friendly by today's standards.  Age comes with a cost, in both people and structures.

It's also not visiting-team friendly, in the sense it's small by dimension but still holds 16,000 people.  The crowd is very close to the court, and consequently, very loud.  When you can't hear the person next to you shouting in your ear, it's noisy.  It's quite a home-court advantage.  To make a football comparison, I'd refer to Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City -- another very old structure with close bleacher seating.

The Kansas fans themselves were a good group, friendly and very knowledgeable about the game. They knew when to cheer or not, when to complain about officiating or not, that sort of thing.  Put differently, they know and respect the game and opponent.  To make another football comparison, I'd refer to Nebraska football fans at their home games. -- also friendly and game-knowledgeable.

One odd thing about the Kansas fans.....there were an unusually large number of them wearing the team jersey of a current or former player.  That's something you might see at a professional sports event, but it was very strange to see it at a college basketball game. 

All told, it was a fun trip to your basic college town, with a very old, er, I mean historic basketball venue.

2019

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?  No, it's time to again review the things I wanted to have happen this year, and consider some things I would like to see happen in 2019.  As usual, we start with the prior year's list, with comments in ALL CAPS:

-The failure of Bitcoin, not as an idea, but as an investment.
BITCOIN'S SHARE PRICE WENT FROM OVER $15,000 TO UNDER $4,000.  THESE DAYS, IT'S AN AFTERTHOUGHT.

-An NCAA scandal so large they will have to start allowing players a cut of revenues.
THERE WAS/IS A RATHER LARGE SCANDAL RELATED TO SHOE COMPANY REPS GETTING MONEY TO DIRECT AMATEUR BASKETBALL PLAYERS TO CERTAIN SCHOOLS.  BUT SO FAR IT'S ONLY LED TO A FEW COACHES BEING FIRED.

-More destinations and ways to fly on Southwest Airlines.
WELL, THEY ADDED A DIRECT DES MOINES - PHOENIX FLIGHT.

-A widespread ability to charge devices without a cord (also asked for this for 2016).
NOPE.

-A new governor / lieutenant governor elected for Iowa.
IT LOOKED LIKE THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT IT TURNED OUT TO BE A SURPRISING DISAPPOINTMENT.

-Let's try this -- exponential growth in the cannabis industry to the extent all states will want a piece of it through taxation.
ALMOST READY TO SAY THIS HAPPENED.  [I JUST COVERED THIS IN MY LAST POST.]

-Greater national and international awareness of CRISPR (genome editing) technology.
THERE HAVE BEEN MORE NATIONAL STORIES ABOUT THIS.

-Smaller entree portions served in restaurants, for a reduced price.
THE PORTIONS MAY HAVE GOTTEN LARGER.

-Fewer national weather disasters, but more understanding of climate change.
ANOTHER ITEM THAT MOVED FARTHER AWAY FROM HAPPENING, NOT CLOSER.

-The resignation or impeachment of a mentally unstable and unqualified president -- again, no names.
CARRYING THIS ONE OVER TO NEXT YEAR.

Now, for 2019 I'd like to see these things happen:

The resignation or impeachment of a mentally unstable and unqualified president -- again, no names.

The electric vehicle becoming America's fastest growing (by percentage) seller.

Alabama and Clemson and New England to have poor football seasons.

Some major medical breakthrough, perhaps a vaccine to eliminate a dread disease.

Consistent, moderate summer rain in central Iowa.

A priest actually arrested and charged and jailed for past sexual abuse.

More cities allowing app-based scooter rentals.

Another scandal that ruins another Fox TV personality.

U.S. restaurants that allow payment by app, OR that bring the credit card reader to your table.

Me traveling to one of the five continental states in which I've never set foot.

That's The Ticket

I recently attended the Big XII basketball tournament in Kansas City.  I've been to this event quite often over the past 25 years, back to when it was only the Big 8 basketball tournament held at an older arena in Kansas City,

In all of the tournament game sessions I've attended in that time, perhaps 25 or so, I've only had advance tickets in hand once.  Every other time, including this year, I relied on being able to buy tickets from those selling near the venue.

Given this experience of buying secondary market tickets on the street, a/k/a ticket scalping, I feel I can provide a good list of do's and don'ts in this area.

DO check the secondary ticket prices on-line before you go.  This is something that wasn't available years ago, the ability to look at StubHub or some other on-line ticket broker.  It's nice to have an idea of the prices going in, however, know that the on-line prices should generally be a bit higher than what you could get on the street, where there is no automatic third-party broker transaction fee.

DON'T get too excited.  Know why you often see ticket scalpers many blocks away from the venues?  It isn't because they're afraid of violating some scalping ordinance.  It's because they know rubes who have never bought/sold tickets on the street before are likely to buy/sell them at the first opportunity.  If a ticket scalper is blocks away from the stadium, you can be sure there will be many others closer to it, buying/selling at a more market-based price.

DO try to buy tickets from a non-professional seller.  A good rule of thumb is to look for someone wearing the school colors of a team.  Those folks are more likely to be happy to sell their extra tickets at a less-than-market-based price, just to not delay their getting into the arena.  This is the same reason why a professional scalper is constantly asking if anyone has any extra tickets; then they can buy low and re-sell them again.  (An easy rule of thumb for identifying pro scalpers is, it's anyone wearing a sign about buying or selling tickets!)

DON'T be afraid to negotiate.  No one selling tickets should expect to get the full price for which they're asking.  It's a barter system.  Ask for a lower price.  If you are far apart in price, just say you aren't ready to accept that and walk away.  You might end up buying from them later.

DO wait until as close to game time as possible to buy.  This is the most obvious, and most violated, strategy of buyers.  By game-time, the nervous amateurs will be gone, and the pro scalpers will be more eager to get rid of the remaining tickets they hold.  A willingness to miss some of the pre-game festivities, and maybe even the start of the game, is easily the most difficult and the most valuable thing a buyer can do.

It's Faaan-tastic

Last week, I watched an NBA basketball game from a second row courtside seat.  This was the third or fourth time I’ve watched from these seats over the years, enough to make some veteran observations:

• NBA players play HARD.  So many people who watch college basketball will call it physical, but it isn’t remotely close to the physicality of an NBA game.  These guys are much bigger and stronger, and bodies are banging around like crazy, over a much longer period of time, and with more possessions.

• NBA players do play good defense.  I get so tired of hearing people say that NBA players don’t try that hard on defense.  Sure, there are a few bad defensive players, and everyone takes a possession off now and then, but the fact is these guys are consistently playing tough, aggressive defense.

• NBA franchises put on a big show both on the court and off.  There is never a moment during a time out or quarter break that something isn’t going on to entertain fans.  It’s a sporting event, video game, and Las Vegas light show rolled into one.  [Aside:   The t-shirt gun wasn’t a one-barrel launcher, it was a gatling-gun style-device that spewed out multiple shirts in a few seconds.  Impressive!]

• NBA officials have an impossible job, deciding which fouls to call and which ones to not call, because fouls are happening all of the time.  Plus, they have to hump it up and down the court the entire game trying to keep up with some of the biggest, fittest athletes on earth.

Life After High School Sports

We are right in the middle of the most recent edition of the girls and boys high school state basketball championships in Des Moines.  As it's been the past several years, there are a number of players with whom we are acquainted as the children of friends or relatives.

Along with just about every sport these days, lots of these kids play basketball on a year-round basis, thanks to competitive (typically AAU) programs.  The real thanks actually goes to their parents, who have made a great sacrifice of both time and money to allow it to happen.

The question is, what is the real benefit, and is it worth the price?  In this case, the price isn't just monetary, it's also the price paid in missed events with family, and all of the missed school time.

If you make it to the state tournament, and even win a state title, does that once-in-a-lifetime memory make it worth spending the thousands of hours and dollars, also resulting in other missed memories?  Maybe, maybe not.

What about getting a college athletic scholarship?  Most would answer yes to that, including me.  Still, that's a crapshoot, and regardless, how much of that success can be directly correlated to the extra effort?

In the end, the 'cost' of a kid playing competitive sports throughout the year probably can't be determined until five or so years after high school.  From my perspective, it's all about what kind of person the kid turns out to be when high school and college years are over.

Assuming they aren't one of the less than 1% that becomes a professional in their chosen sport, it depends on whether the kid becomes a productive member of society.  If they did, it doesn't mean the extra athletic time helped them, but at least it didn't hurt them.

2015

As with last year, let's review the things I said I'd like to see in 2014, with my new notes in ALL CAPS:

-The (continued) fall of the so-called Tea Party conservatives.
(NOT REALLY.  GIVEN THE OUTCOME OF THE MID-TERM ELECTIONS, THEY'VE AT LEAST HELD AND MAYBE GAINED STRENGTH.)

-Less Kanye / Less Miley.
(NO FOR KANYE, YES FOR MILEY.)

-Apple TV.
(NOPE, BUT WE GOT APPLE PAY AND WE'RE GETTING THE APPLE WATCH.)

-NCAA basketball Sweet 16 trips for either Iowa and Iowa State.
(NO FOR IOWA, YES FOR IOWA STATE.)

-Better football from the Cyclones and Vikings - the bar is incredibly low.
(NO FOR THE CYCLONES, YES - BARELY - FOR THE VIKINGS.)

-Warmer Spring weather, at least where it doesn't snow again in May.
(IT WAS DEFINITELY BETTER.)

-More legalization of marijuana beyond what's happening in Colorado on 1/1/2014.
(YES, SORT OF.  THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PASSED A VOTE TO LEGALIZE IT.  BUT STATES LIKE IOWA STILL CAN'T BRING THEMSELVES TO EVEN LEGALIZE MEDICINAL USE.)

-A la carte cable TV channels.  It's only a matter of time before cable providers will have to do this to compete with computer streaming.  Why not in 2014?
(NO AGAIN, ALTHOUGH COMPANIES LIKE NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME ARE INCHING US CLOSER TO IT.)

For 2015 I'd like to see:

Less glorification of big butts.

A Final Four for Iowa State men's basketball, and an NCAA tournament berth for both Iowa and Northern Iowa men's basketball.

More action, less inaction by the U.S. Congress.

Stephen Colbert dominating late night television, with Conan and Fallon and Stewart right behind.

Common use of Apple Pay.

Might as well go for it again -- at least medicinal marijuana legalization in Iowa.

A vaccine against Ebola.

A week-long vacation for me.

Golf 24/7

An historic event (or is it a historic event?) in my life occurred this week.  After many years of abstinence, I allowed myself to indulge in a long-waited, premium desire.

I got the Golf Channel.

A little background here:  I have cable, bundled with internet service.  I could do that with satellite TV, but I’m happy with the broadband internet speed I have, and that’s keeping me tethered to cable TV for now.

However, our cable provider, Mediacom, sucks when it comes to its basic cable TV channel lineup.  This is true for a lot of cable companies, still fighting against the a la carte model that internet TV inevitably will provide.  Still, I’ve been to plenty of other places that have different cable providers, and Mediacom’s basic cable channels are not robust by comparison.

This means that the basic cable service I’ve had for years is missing ‘premium’ channels that other providers consider basic.  This includes Golf Channel, ESPNU, and a few others.  (One of the others is Fox Business News, a/k/a the 1% Channel.  It’s beyond strange how this is considered a premium channel, while CNBC isn’t.)

Cheap bastard that I am, I’ve never paid the extra dough for home access to those so-called premium channels.  That ended this week with the effort of one phone call, in which I agreed to pay another $100 a year ($8 per month) for a premium sports and information package.

Ironically, I did this primarily for the ESPNU channel, because I don’t want to miss another bunch of good college basketball games this winter.  And I did it secondarily for The NFL Network, so I don’t miss those games this winter, either.

But the long-term crown jewel for me will be the Golf Channel.  A new ‘go-to’ for when there’s nothing else good to watch.  It’s already paying for itself with end-to-end coverage of the Australia Masters and next week’s Australian Open – two events I couldn’t have cared less about a few days ago!

Fore!

Watching Basketball In Black And White

No sport does more to perpetuate white racial stereotypes than basketball.  They even made a successful movie about it years ago - White Men Can't Jump.

The conventional wisdom is, white players aren't as 'athletic' as black players, meaning they aren't as quick, don't jump as high, etc., and ergo, they aren't as good.

Oh, white players are still very good, just not as good, generally speaking. Considering the best of the best of today's players, it's hard to argue.

I can't help but think of this while watching this year's University of Iowa men's basketball team.  Let's just say it has a high proportion of pasty white, almost sickly looking players.  I'm talking tall-but-gaunt-looking players.

But very good, dare I say athletic, pasty white, almost sickly looking players.  All right, one of them is a bigger guy, which is important, because sometimes four of these whiteys are on the court at once.  And a couple of them are Iowa natives, so that's good, too.

So the question is, how long before someone in the mainstream sports media, or even the non-mainstream media, dare to assume verbally or in writing that this Iowa team isn't 'athletic' (Read: black) enough to compete against the best teams?

That mistake is made almost every year with Wisconsin.  I guess they'll be able to compete with them, huh?

Bad Calls

Even opposing teams agree: Iowa State athletics and its fans have been blatantly robbed three times in less than eight months in big, nationally televised games.

The latest cut came last week in football, when a Texas running back seemed to lose the football near the goal line, and replay officials claimed they didn't have indisputable visual evidence to overturn the call that everyone else could see.  Thus, a 90+ yard, ISU game winning fumble return TD was turned into a Texas win.

This piles on top of the two other blown officiating calls that cost ISU dearly in basketball this year. First, the no-call charge debacle against Kansas in February, and then the block-charge screw-up in the NCAA basketball tournament against Ohio State a month later.  Both occurred very near the end of the game, and both were clearly declared to be wrong later.  (How wrong?  Well, the Big 12 apologized and reprimanded the Kansas game officials.  And since the Ohio State game, the NCAA has clarified the rules relating to when a player can take a charge.)

National media personalities agree these were all crappy calls, but then most of them eventually say that it doesn't come down to one call.  That's true, but also stupid.  Bad calls late in a game are much worse than other times, because the offended team has no time to adapt.  Don't say there were other times that plays could have been made, when in fact the play of the game was made, but taken away by the officials.

The commiseration from national sports media folks on all of these bad officiating calls is nice I suppose, as is the commiseration from other teams' fans.  (I wore ISU gear to a Nebraska football game in Lincoln this past weekend, and no fewer than 4 fans spontaneously told me something to the effect of, "You got screwed!") But it doesn't change outcomes or better the attitude of Cyclone Nation.  They're just left to know that karma is a bitch - Kansas and Ohio State later lost heartbreakers in the NCAA tournament, and this year's Texas football team is already circling the drain.

It's probably best to simply accept that, home or away, when in doubt, officials' calls are going to favor the traditional national power.

How March Madness Used To Be

Some of my early memories of the NCAA basketball tournament, and college basketball in general, circa late 1970s:

*Only 40 teams - 8 first-round games, with the winners joining 24 others in the round of 32.  Went to 48 teams soon after.  (Then 64, 68...)

*Only one TV network showing games - and it was NBC.  There was no such thing as cable or satellite TV, come on!

*No national TV for the early round games, nor the elite eight games.  Hell, it wasn't even called the elite eight then, it was called the 'quarterfinal round' if you can believe that.

*No shot clock; no three-point line.

*Duke went to the Final Four in 1978, and no one knew who they were.

*Really long socks.  Really short shorts.  Really long hair.

*The NCAA had just started to allow dunking.  It had been a techincal foul.  I am not making this up.

*Magic v. Bird, 1979 championship game, the most watched one ever.  Real time: As hyped as it might have been then, nobody really knew if either of them would be a good professional player.

Managing The Madness

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament recently gave us many exciting moments, with unexpected wins by some teams and unexpected losses by others. It truly was March Madness.

In many ways, the NCAA tournament parallels my view of the stock market. It’s clear the tournament as a whole has been a solid and successful venture for college basketball for decades, regardless of the teams involved. The same is true of the broad stock market, which has also been a successful venture for investors for decades, regardless of the stocks that comprise it.

However, as with individual stocks, the success of individual teams in the NCAA tournament cannot be so easily predicted. Each year, many ‘experts’ predict that higher-seeded teams will be winners based on recent past performance…..but each year unforeseen events occur that result in those teams losing, ‘busting brackets’ across the country. Similarly, each year many ‘experts’ predict which stocks or mutual funds will be winners based on recent past performance…..but each year unforeseen events occur that cause those stocks/funds to be losers, busting investment portfolios across the country.

Despite this proven randomness, many investors still try to follow the trends, outfox everyone else, and beat the market. The truth is, no one can actually pull that off over a long period of time. Some may get lucky with a few picks. Some may even enjoy a sustained run. But in the end, the market tends to be a bust for investors who misjudge its fickle swings.

Much like the NCAA tournament, the market is a creature that defies predictions. While it may seem logical to buy into a team (Stock A) that has better recent results, there is no guarantee it will be a better choice going forward than another team (Stock B) with recent losses. Put another way, “Has done” is no guarantee of “Going to do.”

The better way to invest is to recognize the market’s unpredictability, and use that knowledge to increase the likelihood of higher long-term performance. To that end, my investment philosophy takes an extraordinarily broad-based and low-cost approach, thereby avoiding any built-in biases toward the current ‘favorite’ stock or market sector. In essence, I invest in the tournament, not the teams!

When it comes to the NCAA tournament, people should enjoy the Madness. When it comes to investing, however, people should stop the Madness, and get the predictability, performance, and peace of mind that comes from a more certain approach.

Obligatory UNI Post

This week the United States reformed its health care system. Here is my analysis: I think....

Waaahhh! Wait a minute! The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) Panthers made the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 by beating heavily favored Kansas. Gotta mention that.

Not much in sports is going to top seeing an underdog Iowa group beat down one of the best teams in the country, and get all kinds of attention for it. I suppose it would have been better if they had beaten a more hated team, a team known for cheating coaches and/or players.

I happened to watch the game at a bar with friends and family, and it was possibly the most fun I've ever had watching any sporting event on TV. Loud cheering, drinks, and a gratifying outcome is a great combination. Factor in the pathetic state of the other D-I men's basketball programs in Iowa, and you suddenly have the biggest group of bandwaggoning fans in Iowa history.

But not me. I'm focusing my attention on health care reform.

After the game.