A Fine Friday

 

Bishop Sycamore head coach Roy Johnson

It was a night of documentaries here.

First, it was the story of the Bishop Sycamore football team. You can probably understand that I'd be interested in that one because of my experience with high school football.

I can only sum it up by saying "Ugh."

The main focus of the documentary is head coach Roy Johnson who comes off as shady and a con man. He has a mountain of lawsuits and stories of shady behavior that have grown.

You want to believe that he genuinely cared about his players but even that doesn't come off well.

It's the players -- the "kids"  (and that's a stretch because some of them were not of high school age) -- that you feel the worst for.

The situation got exposed when Bishop Sycamore (not a real school) set up a game with powerhouse IMG Academy in 2021. Adding to the chaos was the addition of ESPN broadcasting the game.

Final score: IMG 58, Bishop Sycamore 0.

It was 23-0 after one quarter and it wasn't long before ESPN wondered what was going on. They noted during the broadcast how little they knew about the Centurions.

They knew nothing because the roster was questionable and there were facts to be found about the team. You wonder how the broadcast was allowed to proceed with such minimal preparation.

It actually got dangerous for the players for the school based in Columbus, OH.

The documentary exposes the ugly side of high school sports -- especially football. I always question, for instance, if big-time broadcasters should be covering youth sports but of course, that cat is long out of the bag.

It just felt like such games belonged in the hands of smaller broadcasters (such as WGCH and we put on a rather professional broadcast if I may say so).

But, hey, I broadcast youth sports, so what do I know?

Yet you look at this show and you realize that Johnson created a school (Christians of Faith School) and when that fizzled out, he did it again (Bishop Sycamore).

You watch the show and he fully admits that he lied and was entirely deceitful. Still, he's unrepentant.

I've seen so much in my time in high school sports but I've never seen anything quite like this story and the trickle-down.

It's astounding and I felt dirty watching it.

Or maybe that was the presence of Bomani Jones who, of course, brought race into the discussion because that's what he does.

Still, if you have anything to do with high school sports, I highly recommend watching it.

I also watched a documentary about HQ, the quiz game that many played on their phone.

I was guilty of doing so also. In fact, I even won once, though I think I won pennies because the number of winners reduced the payout.

So much for a moment of glory.

Again, it's a fascinating tale of power, greed, excess, and business.

After that, it was time to check in on the Yankees.

Overall, I haven't written much about the Bombers here on the blog recently.

Honestly, what is there to say?

I think I've said it before: they stink. In fact, the last time I remember a season this dreadful and unenjoyable was 1982.

Yes, there have been worse teams since then (the early 90s were dreadful) but there was something disgusting about '82, probably having to do with the strike of 1981.

Look, I get we're spoiled. I also get there will be no sympathy. I'm not sure I want any either.

But the thing to know is that a fan needs to remain loyal. At least that's always been my approach.

I don't remember a time when I wasn't a Yankees fan, though I do remember that first visit to Yankee Stadium in 1972 and how my head exploded.

So no matter how awful they've been this year, especially given the expectations, I simply don't walk away. Call it loyalty.

Hope springs eternal in sports. That's the very nature of spring training and opening day. However, it's tough to feel good when it's Aug 25.

So you look for signs. You look for something to feel good about.

For tonight, I'll settle for getting a win against Tampa Bay in Florida. It's a win. That's it. Nothing more.

It's still an unacceptable season and there's a ways to go before this team will win a championship again, but it's all I've got for tonight.

I miss that feeling when this team was never out of a game. In their loss against Washington yesterday, I never felt like they were going to pull that one out. It was an effort typical of 2023 for the Yankees.

So, for tonight, um, yay?

The playoffs will be less stressful for me.