SI's Stewart Mandel recently joined the Blogosphere with his attempt at a College Football Blog. It might be that Stewart's blog is hosted on a prominent sports pub web site owned by Ted Turner, or that you probably won't see any cussing on his posts, but Stewart's blog doesn't feel very, well, bloggy. At first read I found it a lot like the crypto journalism of Ivan Maisel's '3 Point Stance' over at ESPN. Not bloggy, but good for snippets that feel like raw feed from the seedy underbelly of college football. And the first post's not bad for typifying exactly what I mean. Not, coincidentally, it also has to do with my main man: Lloyd Carr - the very same crusty coach from the title. (Permalink to Lloyd Story and Heated Discussion Here.)
So what? Lloyd Carr got a blind guy fired from refereeing? What’s a coach supposed to do but stand up for the betterment of the game and the benefit his team? Removing a blind ref just makes sense for everyone involved, even though conjecture sprouting up across the blogosphere is that one-eyed Jim Filson's refereeing actually improved after losing his right eye in a cock fighting accident back in 2000.
But Lloyd takes the stance that every honorable man, like a wounded soldier, knows when his physical instability has rendered him useless to do his duty. And the honorable man should take that cue to fade gracefully from the limelight. Say if Lloyd's angina caused his balls to swell such that he couldn't stalk the sideline with the nimbless required to berate ball boys, assistant coaches and sideline reporters, he'd certainly retire. No questions asked. But when some stubborn, eye-patch wearing codger won’t face the facts and start collecting Social Security when he can only watch the offense or the defense, not both, nor any of the depth of field, sometimes you’ve got to show a man the door.
So Lloyd did what he had to do by expediting the exit of a man who’s time had come. In many ways it’s merficul; humane, like putting down a lame horse before he has a chance to crap out publicly.
Plus I just like the idea of an old man standing firm on his convictions and putting down the hammer to stamp out injustice. And will Lloyd's testimony that shoddy calls by Filson gave Notre Dame, Ohio State and the last three Michigan bowl game opponents a decisive edge over the last four seasons? Will that keep Filson off the field? (Unlikely, since it's true that in America you can't terminate an employee for having a disease or disability - even if it prevents them from doing their job. My uncle tried to fire a drunk once, and since alcoholism is apparently a disease that just sneaks up on some people, the termination was deemed wrongful and my uncle had to keep the guy on payroll and pay his disability insurance.)
Finally, here's how I imagine the conversation played out wherein Lloyd secured Filson's firing.
Lloyd: ‘Hey Jim (Delaney, Big 10 Commissioner), you letting One-Eyed Jim Filson call games this year?
Jim: I was thinking about it Lloyd. He’s been with us a long time. Seems cruel to let him go now after he lost his eye and everything.
Lloyd: Cruel? You’ve got to be cruel to be kind Jim. And the kind thing is to let him go before he embarrasses himself.
Jim: What?
Lloyd: Well, is it kind to let an arthritic dog hang around and play fetch just because he still wants to be a dog?
Jim: ...
Lloyd: When his existence is inseparable from doghood and that very thing is causing him excruciating pain?
Lloyd: Survival of the fittest Jim. Basic Darwinian principle. He wasn’t even that good when he had two eyes, and now he’s seeing 50% less.
Jim: Actually Lloyd, his refereeing has improved.
Lloyd: Hogwash Jim. Look at our road record since 2000, he's missing the point. And so are you. We’d be doing him a favor if we spared him the public scorn he'll suffer if he blows any more calls. The fans can be so cruel.
Jim: Hmmm. Maybe, you’re right Lloyd.
Lloyd: They’re probably already making fun of him. Sitting around, drinking beer and making fun of Jim. Posting their vitrole on their internet chat boards and blogs. The least we can do is spare him any further humiliation.
Jim: Gee Lloyd. I never looked at it that way. I thought, well, he wants to work and he’s been with us for five decades, so what’s the harm? But you're right Lloyd. I'll fire him.
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