Author: Scott Adamson

Court ruling puts NASL on life support

By Scott Adamson
Adamsonmedia.com

The first incarnation of the North American Soccer League folded in 1984.

Thirty-three years later, its second division namesake might just join it in the sports graveyard.

On Saturday, a federal judge denied the NASL an injunction against the United States Soccer Federation that would have allowed the NASL to regain its Division II status, a move that would’ve put it one rung below Major League Soccer and on par with the United Soccer League as a second-tier circuit.

“We are very disappointed with the Court’s decision in denying our motion for a preliminary injunction,” the league said in a statement released on Saturday afternoon. “We remain steadfast in our pursuit of antitrust claims against the U.S. Soccer Federation and are confident that justice will ultimately be served. In light of the extreme harm this decision poses to the NASL and our teams, players, coaches and fans, we will immediately begin reviewing all of our legal options including the process for appealing today’s ruling.”

In September the USSF rejected the NASL’s Division II application, forcing the league to play at Division III if it chose to remain sanctioned by the American soccer governing body.

Seeking relief through the courts, its best hope rested with Judge Margo Brodie, who ruled on Saturday that while the NASL may well suffer “irreparable harm” by being denied D2 status, it did not demonstrate “a clear showing of entitlement to relief.”

The circuit, which features franchises in major markets such as New York (a club that retains the iconic Cosmos nickname), San Francisco, Indianapolis and Miami, has had something of an adversarial relationship with MLS, and NASL officials suggested that league as well as the USSF and USL had conspired against it by changing the Professional League Standards that determine the U.S. soccer hierarchy.

The PLS requires at least 12 franchises across three time zones; the NASL currently has eight franchises, but one – North Carolina FC, is moving to the USL next season and another, the San Francisco Deltas, are in danger of folding.

The USSF released the following statement after the ruling was announced:

“U.S. Soccer’s responsibility is to ensure the long-term stability and sustainability of all professional leagues operating in the United States, as well as the teams that compete within those leagues. After providing numerous opportunities over the years for the NASL to meet the Professional League Standards, or at least provide a pathway to meet those standards, the elected and independent members of the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors ultimately made a decision not to sanction the NASL as a Division 2 league. The decision was made in the best interest of soccer in the United States, and today’s decision confirms it was the correct decision. U.S. Soccer is committed to finding ways to improve the long-term viability of all leagues and teams and, by doing so, continue building upon the growth of soccer in the United States. U.S. Soccer is committed to working with NASL as it considers its future.”

UPDATE:

NASL interim commissioner Rishi Sehgal issued a statement on Sunday following the appeal filed by the NASL to the U.S. Court of Appeals. The statement reads:

“Following the disappointing ruling issued by the U.S. District Court yesterday, the NASL filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. We remain confident in the merits of our case and that our request for a preliminary injunction is supported by the law. For that reason, we’re hopeful that the Second Circuit will deliver a ruling that allows the NASL to play at the Division 2 level in 2018 and enables us to continue growing and developing the sport. We have asked for our appeal to be expedited to eliminate the uncertainty facing all of our clubs, players, coaches, fans, and other stakeholders.”

I might not mean what I say when I text

I love texting.

Brain Farce is an alleged humor column written by Scott Adamson. It comes out basically whenever he feels like writing it. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

For those of us who’d simply rather not go to all the trouble of actually speaking to another human being, it has become an invaluable tool of modern communication. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I actually “spoke” to anyone on my phone.

It’s not that I don’t like people, it’s just that I don’t like talking to people.

But – in a bit of a disconnect – I much prefer using voice text when I have an impersonal conversation.

The only problem is that sometimes things get lost in translation, which makes me wonder if I don’t speak clearly or if the artificial intelligence inside my iPhone isn’t as intelligent as it claims to be.

Case in point – last week my wife and I were talk-texting over the phone and I was joking about how we needed interim decorations between Halloween and Christmas.

I suggested putting a horn of plenty on the table in honor of Thanksgiving.

Only problem is “horn of plenty” came out “whore and plain tea” in the text. I’m pretty sure that sentence has never, ever come out of my mouth.

Besides, since I live in the south, I’d be talking about sweet tea whether a whore was involved or not.

Another time I talk-texted that I was headed to the hardware store to get “Gorilla Glue” but it spelled out “girls and glue.”

Again, something I’d never say … it’s something Keith Morrison would say on Dateline.

And more recently I was leaving a press conference and emailed her to let her know that it was business as usual, except, “A guy was flatulent.”

Oddly, flatulent came out “Argyle get joint.”

A less learned woman would’ve thought I had gone to a press conference where a sock was trying to get high.

Of course there are less extreme examples.

We have a cat named “Bane” but it always comes out “Bain” on talk-text. My wife knows who I’m talking about, so the spelling is inconsequential.

And it’s not like Bane (or Bain, if you prefer), would get offended if he happened to glance over at the phone and see that his name was misspelled.

I doubt even he knows how to spell it … he has enough trouble pronouncing it.

Now, I’ve been told by some younger people that talk-texting is not held in high-regard and honestly, I didn’t realize that.

It just seems so much more convenient than looking down and typing away – especially if you’re driving and trying to extract the cork from the wine bottle you have situated between your legs.

Yet regardless of whether you type or talk into your phone, there’s always the chance of dialing what used to be a “wrong number.”

During football season I texted with coaches quite a bit. And often it would be moments before or after I had been in contact with my wife.

As I was walking into the office I texted my wife and said, “Made it safely to work. Love you!

Except that message accidentally went to a coach.

Fortunately, it turns out he loves me, too – even more than a whore with plain tea.

 

 

Bill Clark … the coach who saved a program

When the UAB football Blazers started the 2017 season on Sept. 2 – ending a competition hiatus that began on the evening of Nov. 30, 2014 – I felt like I had a little something to do with it.

Out of Left Field is written by Scott Adamson. It appears weekly and sometimes more frequently if he gets up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

After university president Ray Watts shut the program down based on a bogus “study” (and with the support of some trustees who wanted only one football team in the University of Alabama system), alumni and Birmingham business leaders with deep pockets and big influence fought back.

I and many others made a five-year financial pledge to help revive football (as well as bowling and rifle, programs caught in the crossfire of the gridiron assassination), and the city’s movers and shakers shook Watts into “rethinking” his position.

Jump to today, and the reincarnated Blazer football team is back and better than ever.

At 6-3, the Conference USA member is already bowl eligible, and with USTA, Florida and UTEP remaining on the schedule, there are likely more wins to come before making its second-ever postseason appearance.

The program now has a football operations center and a covered practice field. Just a few years earlier, UAB wanted to install artificial turf to work out on, but was allegedly denied by a board member – even though the money was part of a pledge that would’ve involved no funds from the UA system.

And of course current Florida State boss Jimbo Fisher was famously offered the head coaching job at UAB before the 2007 campaign, and accepted. However, the deal was nixed by the same board of trustees that seemed to take great pleasure in playing Lucy to the Blazers’ Charlie Brown, cheerfully snatching away the football during the follow through of his kick.

Although I don’t know of a single UAB fan who trusts Watts or the board – and with good reason – the bitterness is giving way to giddiness thanks to the remarkable work of head coach Bill Clark.

And while I’m deeply grateful to those whose influence and substantial monetary commitment breathed life back into “Birmingham’s Team,”  to my mind it was Clark who ultimately saved the program.

Had the shutdown come in 2013, I’m not sure UAB football would be around today. It’s hard to convince me that enough people would’ve been inspired to save it.

Before Clark took over, the Blazers were in a downward spiral that seemed irreversible.

The beginning of the end started when the board forced Neil Callaway on UAB. A friend of board president pro tempore and chief power broker Paul Bryant Jr. – who never tried to mask his hatred for all things Blazers – Callaway was a position coach in zero demand as a head coach.

UAB had originally hoped to promote assistant coach and Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan to the top job, but the board blocked the promotion.

Then came the Fisher fiasco.

Callaway’s era lasted from 2007-2011; his first season ended in a school-worst 2-10 record and he was 18-42 over five years.

After he was canned, Bobby Petrino protégé Garrick McGee was hired, and there was hope he could provide a fresh start.

He couldn’t.

McGee was 5-19 in his two seasons in the Magic City before rejoining Petrino at Louisville as offensive coordinator.

By the end of the 2013 season, which ended with another 2-10 record and several humiliating losses, Blazer football was at an all-time low.

Its season finale at Legion Field was watched by 6,383 fans, and what they watched was the Blazers lose 62-27 to previously winless Southern Miss.

As much as it pains me to admit this, had Watts announced the day after that game that football at UAB was finished, I might not have fought it.

I like to think I would’ve been indignant and inspired to act, but at that point I felt the program had been hijacked. After all, if the board wasn’t going to allow the team to be competitive, why keep going through the motions?

Clark, of course, had other ideas.

With no facilities and no support to speak of, he snatched a team in a death spiral and caught it before it crashed.

His 2014 Blazers finished 6-6, which was a huge leap forward for a squad that had absolutely no business winning that many games.

The team’s last contest at Legion Field that season came against No. 18 Marshall.

It ended in a 23-18 loss, but it also ended with nearly 30,000 fans cheering on a team that was reversing course.

Clark gave us wins, but more than that, he gave us hope.

If he could take a group of kids beaten down and counted out and turn them into a .500 team in his first season, what might he do going forward?

And then, with one visit to the team by the Grim Reaper (who looked amazingly like Watts), all hell broke loose.

Shutting down UAB football was met with outrage, but it was also met with resolve.

Because Clark believed he could win at UAB, business leaders, boosters and old alums like me started believing again, too.

We put our money where our mouths were and were finally able to shout down the people who seemed to be making it their business to put Blazer football out of business.

I’m biased, of course, but Clark should be the leading candidate for national coach of the year honors in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Two years after Watts executed an innocent team they sprang back to life, and their leader has been the architect of this year’s greatest college football Cinderella story.

Sure, I’ll always be proud of the role so many of us played in UAB’s football resurrection, and thankful we all worked together to make it all possible.

But without Clark, it might have never happened.

Fortunately, we’ll never know.