The term asterisk gets grossly overused in sports

If you are any kind of a sports fan or journalist, you are going to
witness a game where either the winning team benefits from the
opposing team being hindered by injuries or the losing team
having its limitations because of them.

The storylines are written, it’s only a question of which side benefits
your team. You are on the winning side that has the reasonably
healthy team and the losing team has a couple of injuries. The
opposing team and/or its fans will grovel, “Well, if we had Player
X or Player Y, we would/could have won.” My favorite is when they
say, “Put an asterisk next to that win.” Statements like that are
pure speculative because it did not happen.

The winning team and/or its fans will say things like, “Injuries are
part of the game.” “It’s not our fault if your team had injuries,” etc.

The most recent example but far from the only one in sports history
and will not be the last is the Toronto Raptors beating the Golden
State Warriors 4-2 in the NBA Finals. The title represented the first
in the Raptors’ 25 year history and derailed the Warriors bid at
being the first team to win three straight titles since the 2000-2002
Los Angeles Lakers. Golden State, however, made history by
becoming the first team to reach five consecutive finals since the
Boston Celtics from 1962-1966. The Warriors won three titles in
that span.

Before I go any further, I am among the Bay Area minority who is
not a Warriors fan so I was happy to see them lose. I am a San
Antonio Spurs fan. Though I respect what Golden State has
achieved and acknowledge its greatness, from my vantage point
a large segment of its organization and fanbase have become
insufferably arrogant. Especially those who discovered the NBA
in 2014. However, I have great respect for Warrior fans that date
back 20 years or more because they know the sport.

In the process of losing to the Raptors, Golden State had Kevin
Durant return to the court after missing 33 days with a calf strain,
only to sustain a ruptured Achilles tendon in Game 5. Klay
Thompson, who missed Game 3 because of a hamstring injury,
tore the ACL in his right knee in what proved to be the decisive
Game 6. Kevon Looney, though not a star on the same level as
Thompson and Durant but important nonetheless, sustained a
chest fracture but valiantly competed.

The injury flood for Golden State is a byproduct of playing five
straight NBA Finals, which amounted to 106 postseason games
in that span. Do the math, regular seasons are 82 games. The
attrition will be a factor at some point.

So why do I bring up these injuries. Well, in the years Golden
State won titles (2015, 2017, 2018), they benefited from opposing
teams injuries. In 2015, New Orleans was without Jrue Holliday,
Memphis was minus Michael Conley, Houston was minus Patrick
Beverly and Cleveland was without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
In 2017, San Antonio was beating the Warriors from pillar to post
in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals until Zaza Pachulia
stuck his leg in Kawhi Leonard’s landing area of shooting a
3-pointer. The Spurs coughed up a 23-point lead and were swept
4-0. The Warriors beat Cleveland 4-1 in the NBA Finals.

In 2018, Houston went up 3-2 in the Western Conference Finals
before Chris Paul sustained a hamstring injury that kept him out
of the last two games. Golden State won the next two games and
swept Cleveland in the NBA Finals.

Another thing I want to make perfectly clear is that I don’t believe
in asterisks. The Warriors shouldn’t apologize for their titles in
2015, 2016 and 2018. The Cleveland Cavaliers shouldn’t apologize
for their title in 2016. The Toronto Raptors shouldn’t apologize for
their title in 2019.

My biggest complaint is tell Warrior fans/media (some anyhow)
about them benefiting from injuries and it’s “how dare you!” Yet
those same fans are saying how they would have beaten the
Raptors if they were not injured. You can’t have it both ways.

What bothers me the most about the asterisk theory is that it gets
used too many times out of convenience. Should the most recent
New England Patriots Super Bowl win have an asterisk because
Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley was injured? I
could point out countless other examples but in the interest of
space I won’t.

In a perfect world, we want to see two teams playing at full strength
but the world is not perfect. I would love to drive down a perfectly
paved road with no rain or potholes but life does not work that way.

This is competitive sports. The team you are playing does not care
how injured your team is.

To those who taint wins, I say “kiss my asterisk.”

Coming around to other ways of thinking on PE

There are times in life where you learn not to be so rigid in your beliefs.

By my own admission, I can be slow to change my mind because I have
a strong belief that my principles are on point. In general, I think most of
us feel that way.

Two weeks ago, I shared this story that appeared on my Facebook news feed:

https://medium.com/luminate/why-pe-should-be-required-from-kindergarten-
to-college-af232eb3a153

The headline read that physical education should be required from kindergarten
through college. Without even thinking about it, I posted about how I could not
agree more because kids need balance in their lives perhaps more so than adults.

I received three responses from teachers/coaches that I hold in pretty high
esteem: Dylan Leach, Jill Stewart, Melissa Shimer and DeAnna Bowers. I
don’t consider their responses to be pushback simply because it got me
thinking about things that I never considered. Before I get into why I altered
my stance, let me give you context on how it got there:

Dylan Leach: PE is great for kids who do not participate in a school sport.
However, kids who participate in sports should not be required in my humble
opinion. I see the ignorance daily. Those kids should be with their coaches.
Especially the "9th grade PE situation." They are forced to do PE like pacers,
run miles and kickball, etc. Instead of training for athletics. Then, after school
they go to two hour practice where there coach is demanding 100% and they
are tired. Don’t get me started on PE teachers forcing the athletes to run a
timed graded mile on a game day. Pure ignorance. In addition. Those kids
(9th graders) also are not allowed to take weight training and lose out on a
year of learning techniques and accumulation of muscle. So once again, they
have the stress of finding time after school to lift. Those kids and their
coaches/strength coaches get no credit or stipend for the time they spend
giving back to the school.

Jill Stewart: Unfortunately, quality Physical Education is not a priority in
our district. We have excellent teachers and roll out the ball teachers. It’s
about professional integrity. Making Phys. Ed synonymous with athletics
is also ignorant. Even good coaches do not teach the FITT principle, energy
systems, rest and recover principals to take into adulthood. They are
concerned with training for athletic performance for their sport only. I totally
respect that. And all student athletes should have the opportunity to perform
at their highest potential. But kids should learn lifetime fitness and activity,
golf, tennis, learning how to pace on a run. Etc. I’m all for finding ways to
blend conditioning and Physical Education after HS students meet the state
mandated standards in Fit Gram after 9th grade. But, A very small percentage
of the high school kids will play sports in college.

Melissa Shimer: We need quality Physical Education that promotes lifetime
(lifelong) health and fitness. I have also made a huge focus on what the kids
are “learning” vs. what they are “doing.” It’s great to keep them active, but
also important that they feel that have learned quality things from my class.

I must confess that as a 46-year old man who is a father of three kids between
the ages of 10-12, I am one of these triggered old souls that is quick to get on
his soapbox and say things like: “Damn kids ain’t active enough!” “They
spend too much damn time on technology!” “Active kids get better grades!”
I have not necessarily wavered in those beliefs because I think sports mirrors
life. You have days of victory and defeat. For the former, you celebrate the
success but stay humble. For the latter, you pick yourself up and try to succeed
the next time.

I come from a generation that had Atari but we were still wired to be active
whether it was playing sports or riding our bikes like Bo Duke drove the
General Lee or simply playing outside. We also did all of these things and
took PE classes. We did it, why should today’s generation be any different?
So I thought. It makes sense in that just because things were done a certain
way in 1985, does not mean it should be done that way in 2019. Beliefs
evolve because we learn new information. Just because my generation rode
in the back of pickup trucks, did not wear seatbelts, rode as passengers on
bicycle handlebars, etc. does not make it a prudent choice today.

These responses, however, opened my eyes to think that perhaps kids that
already participate in a sport should not be required to overly exert
themselves. Asking a kid to run a timed mile on game day is purely asinine.
To Leach’s point, these same kids have coaches crawling up their tail to
give maximum effort. To Stewart’s point, high school is the pinnacle of
most people’s competitive athletic endeavors. To Shimer’s point, activity
should not be confused with production or learning.

So what are the solutions? I’m not privy to what life is like as a teacher.
Perhaps PE curriculum should be geared toward the lifetime fitness structure
like swimming or golfing, the two activities you can do at 65 or 25 because
they are low impact activities on your joints. However, if a youngster does
not participate in a sport, I couldn't agree more that PE should be a
requirement. For those who participate in a sport, perhaps their PE class
should be geared toward conditioning for their sport when they are out of
season.

So what exactly is the solution? I don’t know and I’ll leave that to those more
qualified than me but I’ve come around to other ways of thinking.

Nonleague football outlook: St. Helena Saints

This is the fifth story in a series featuring nonleague schedules for

Napa Valley high school football teams. Today, the focus is the

St. Helena Saints:

The decade of the 2010s has been a fun time for St. Helena High football
fans.

Then the second half of 2016 and entire season of 2017 season happened.
After going 52-8 from 2011-2015, the Saints went 6-5 and 3-5 in each of
the following two seasons. The previous season, the Saints were 5-2 before
losing three of their last four. Last season, the Saints bounced back on some
level in going 7-5, beating Hoopa Valley 48-22 in the CIF North Coast
Section Div. V playoffs and along the way getting head coach Brandon
Farrell his 100th career victory.

Farrell enters his 12th season as the Saints head coach. There is a lot of
optimism entering this season and the next couple. Part of the shiny outlook
revolves around the backfield foursome of Luis Robledo, Ivan Robledo and
Cody DiTomaso at running back and Daniel Martinez at quarterback. Ivan
Robledo was called up from the JV team as a freshman and rushed for 439
yards on 48 carries and six touchdowns in two playoff games.

The other part of the optimism is rooted in the JV program going 18-2 the
previous two seasons under head coach Ian MacMillan, who was the Saints
varsity head coach from 2004-2006. MacMillan had multiple coaching stops
since that time before returning to St. Helena. While JV success comes with
no guarantees on the varsity level, in this case since Farrell’s program is a
proven commodity from the top on down, one would be inclined to think
that success is translatable.

In the North Central League I, Middletown has been the consistent contender
for multiple decades under Bill Foltmer with various other teams taking turns
challenging them. St. Helena has been that team throughout much of the 2010s.
The rest of the NCL I has become more competitively balanced as well. The
Saints figure to be one of the horses right in the midst of winning the race.

Before each high school football season, one of the most comical things to

listen to is fans, parents and even coaches talking about their team’s

strength of schedule or someone else’s lack of schedule strength.

Each time I hear such sentiments I ask myself, “OK, and what

exactly are you basing your statement on?” Is it last year’s record?

Is it based on how many starters a team has returning? Even though

an opponent is subpar now are you basing it on remembering them

as a powerhouse?

The formula used for breaking down the nonleague is looking at

last season’s record and the collective mark of the past five seasons.

In addition, what are that team’s trends within the five-year period?

Is that record skewed by one really good or bad season? The problem

with solely going by last season’s record is that one season does not

transfer to the next?

St. Helena has three nonleague games before embarking into NCL I
competition. The Saints nonleague foes went 20-14 in 2018 and have
compiled a 77-78 mark over the last five seasons. Here’s a closer look:

AUGUST 23

VS. ST. PATRICK’S (VALLEJO)

The Bruins have been very checkered the last five seasons in going
36-28. In a two-year stretch from 2016-2017, St. Pat’s went 24-5. In
2016, the Bruins went 13-3 and were crowned CIF State champions,
winning the 6-A Bowl Game. The 2018 version though was a distant
cousin of those aforementioned teams going 6-6. St. Helena and St.
Pat’s had numerous matchups as members of the disbanded Superior
California Athletic League from 1986-1999. The two teams met in
the 2014 NCS Div. V playoffs with St. Helena winning 3014.

AUGUST 30

VS. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE (SAN ANSELMO)

Though it is a nonleague contest against what has been a below-average
club, this game carries importance for the Saints because they are Div.
VII and Drake is Div. V. If St. Helena wins, that would bolster its
postseason resume. The Pirates compete in the Marin County Athletic
League and have struggled mightily the last five years in going 12-37,
eight of those wins came in two seasons, each being 4-6 campaigns in
2015 and 2018. The two teams have played in each of the last four years
with the Saints going 4-0, winning by an average score of 38.5-16.0.
That average is skewed by last year’s 26-23 win.

SEPTEMBER 6

AT WINTERS

The Warriors are a Div. IV team that competes in the Sacramento Valley
League out of the Northern Section. Winters has gone 39-19 the previous
five years, including 10-2 last season. The two school have met four times
in that five year span with the Saints going 3-1 with wins in 2014 (33-20),
2015 (15-14) and 2016 (32-24). Winters defeated the Saints 49-21 last
season. The two teams were slated to meet in 2017 but that contest was
cancelled because of the California Wildfires.

Nonleague football outlook: Justin-Siena Braves

This is the third story in a series featuring nonleague schedules for

Napa Valley high school football teams. Today, the focus is the
Justin-Siena Braves:

As he enters his fourth season as head coach, the Justin-Siena High
football program has a full slate of players that have only known
Brandon Larocco as the head man. LaRocco, who was a long-time
assistant and former player of previous head coach Rich Cotruvo.
To refresh your memory, Cotruvo and the school parted ways after
19 seasons (1997-2015).

The Braves are coming off a season in which they vacated the Marin
County Athletic League after 18 years and joined the newly formed
Vine Valley Athletic League with fellow Napa County schools
Vintage, Napa and American Canyon along with Sonoma Valley,
Petaluma and Casa Grande from Sonoma County.

Justin went 5-7 overall and 1-6 in the VVAL. Three of those setbacks
were by a combined 10 points. The road gets no easier considering
that the Braves lost quarterback Barrett Donohoe, who masked a lot
of weaknesses, to graduation. VVAL champion Vintage appears to
have a strong structure from top-to-bottom. American Canyon and
Casa Grande are not going away. Also, Napa is not likely to go
winless as it did a year ago. Justin’s lone VVAL win came against
Napa, 36-32. The good news is that the nonleague schedule is
friendly. In which case the key is, make it rain for the nonleague
slate and get what you can in VVAL contests.

The Braves have gone 11-20 in LaRocco’s three seasons. Before
each high school football season, one of the most comical things to
listen to is fans, parents and even coaches talking about their team’s
strength of schedule or someone else’s lack of schedule strength.

Each time I hear such sentiments I ask myself, “OK, and what
exactly are you basing your statement on?” Is it last year’s record?
Is it based on how many starters a team has returning? Even though
an opponent is subpar now are you basing it on remembering them
as a powerhouse?

The formula used for breaking down the nonleague is looking at
last season’s record and the collective mark of the past five seasons.
In addition, what are that team’s trends within the five-year period?
Is that record skewed by one really good or bad season? The problem
with solely going by last season’s record is that one season does not
transfer to the next?

On the surface, a favorable nonleague slate awaits Justin. The Braves
opponents went 10-23 in 2018 and are a combined 80-125, the previous
five years. Here’s a closer look.

AUGUST 23

VS. PIEDMONT

The two schools have met seven times in the previous five years.
Piedmont has a 5-2 edge and has won all five regular season meetings.
Justin, however, has beaten the Highlanders in the two postseason
meetings, once in 2014 (14-3) and again in 2018 (53-28). Piedmont has
been checkered the last five years, going 12-1 and 9-3 in 2014 and 2015
respectively followed by a combined 20-16 the previous three years.

AUGUST 30

AT HEALDSBURG

The Greyhounds have a rich football history but 2018 is not one they
will want to save in the archives. After just two games, Healdsburg
football closed up shop on the 2018 campaign because of not having
enough players. The two games they played were a 41-0 loss to Sir
Francis Drake (San Anselmo) and a 61-0 loss to Justin. If you’re
scoring at home, that is two defeats by a combined score of 122-0
against teams that compiled a 9-13 record, not exactly Clemson or
Alabama. Healdsburg, which was a long-time member of the Sonoma
County League will compete in the Freelance League. Even before
last season, the Greyhounds were in a downward spiral, having gone
11-31 the last five years. Half of those wins came in a 5-6 season in
2016.

SEPTEMBER 6

AT ARMIJO (FAIRFIELD)

This matchup is compelling on one front in that Justin has some
student-athletes from Fairfield. Larocco himself grew up in Fairfield.
This will mark the second time in as many seasons that the two teams
have met. The Braves won last year’s contest 40-14. The Indians last
non-losing season was 2006 (5-5) and last winning season was 2005
(8-2). Armijo is 13-36 the last five years and went 4-6 last year.

SEPTEMBER 13

VS. ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN (SAN FRANCISCO)

The Crusaders have been no strangers to playing Napa teams in
nonleague because they played Napa High in 2017 (28-13 loss) and
2018 (40-31 win). The latter was Riordan’s lone win of the season.
Riordan has gone 15-38 the last five seasons with that record being
skewed by a 9-4 mark in 2015.