The Pecan Park Eagle

Denial Is not just the name of a river in Egypt.

Denial is not just the name of a river in Egypt.

It’s an old joke, but it totally fits the way professional and collegiate sports teams and programs often handle impending personnel decisions, especially when they feel pressured by both fans, plus the ink and electric press. In today’s social media world, that is merely a pressure that sports entities are under 24/7, all year, every year, and, unless your club is winning everything, it turns negative on a dime – or something like someone establishing a new record for “pick-sixes” in four consecutive games.

While he was employed as head coach of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, gypsy genius mentor Nick Saban denied up and down that he had any contact or interest in the open head coaching job at the University of Alabama. A few days later, he was signing a contract to take over the program on a contractual basis that would have taken any reasonable great one and his agent far more than 72 hours to hammer into self-absorbing shape. And now that Saban has opened the NCAA spigot on national championships in football for smiling Alabama fans, we feel certain that his original deal has since yeasted into one that better measures up to the kind of money trough that opens up to sports figures who deliver the goods in their respective marketplaces.

The 1953 Cincinnati Redlegs (who did not call themselves the “Reds” in 1953 due to the word’s association back then with communism) denied up and own the street that all their loud locker room screaming had anything to do with their unhappiness and desire to be rid of manager Rogers Hornsby, but on their way to a sixth place finish, the club fired him with seven games to go and turned over the team to interim manager Buster Mills. It was Hornsby’s last managerial stop, but like most of the others, it came about with a few “hip-hip-hooray” cheers along the “ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead” player song trail.

As far as I can tell, and I could be as wrong as rain in any recent Houston spring, Rogers Hornsby had no friends. He had no friends because nobody liked him. Nobody liked him because he never gave anyone anything to like about him as a human being. He had a Hall of Fame ability that has caused more than one pundit to describe him as the greatest right hand hitting batter in the history of the game, but that was it. When the season ended, the famous story about him sitting in a chair and staring out the window until spring training began again had another angle to it beyond his obsessive love of the game. He also stared out the window through the winter because he had no social skills or needs to be with people on any other basis. Oh, he didn’t stay by the window all the time. If there was a parimutuel horse betting operation or track nearby, you could count on The Rajah to seek it out and put it into play.

Hornsby had no need for people. He had a big need for horses that ran for the money.

Back in 1950, the late Buddy Hancken of later Houston Astros coaching service was managing in the minors away from his home in Beaumont. So, he did the right thing. He rented out his house for the season to Rogers Hornsby, who was taking over as manager of the Beaumont Exporters of the Texas League. When the season ended and Buddy returned home, several of his neighbors stopped by to welcome him home and thank him for returning. “That Rogers Hornsby fellow was the most unfriendly person I’ve ever tried to meet,” one neighbor offered.

We could write a book on the subject, but why not just have some fun here on what may be the Ten Biggest Rivers of Denial in Sports for 2013?

Here are my offerings, even if it may be months, or years in some cases, before the real lies bubble to the surface:

10) “It was never about money to me. I just loved playing the game at a high level of accomplishment.” – Alex Rodriguez, Third Base, New York Yankees.

9) “We’re very much behind the current plan to save the Astrodome. The last thing we want is to see it torn down and turned into a parking lot.” – Bob McNair, Owner, Houston Texans.

8) “The American Alliance for Mixed Martial Arts is totally in support of their new, very simple, but healthy approach to concussion-avoidance: “Beat the other guy’s brains in before he bashes in yours.” – Joe Kapzulli, Commissioner, American Alliance for Mixed Martial Arts.

7) “The Chicago Cubs are totally committed to winning the World Series in the 21st Century. We also will not reach 2108 without having won at least twice.” – Theo Epstein, General Manager, Chicago Cubs.

6) “Even if we are going through a little rough spell at 2-5, I still think that a healthy Matt Schaub is the QB who can best get us back in the winner’s circle.” – Head Coach Gary Kubiak, Houston Texans.

5) “I have no interest, nor have I had any contact with anyone about the open coaching job at USC.” – Kevin Sumlin, Head Coach, Texas A&M.

4) “Mack Brown is both a class act and great developer of talent. He is our coach for the foreseeable future.” – Chairman, UT Board of Regents.

3) “We are all going to miss Bud Selig when he retires. A fairer man never served as Commissioner of Baseball.” – Jim Crane, Owner, Houston Astros.

2) “I like the Selig rule that allows the All Star Game winner to be the determining factor in home field advantage for the World Series because it takes away the records of the teams actually competing and gives the decision over to people who most likely will have nothing to do with the actual playing of the World Series.” – Joe Baseball Fan, Anywhere, USA.

1) “I have no interest, nor have I had any contact with anyone about the open coaching job at UT.” – Art Briles, Head Coach, Baylor.

Have, a nice weekend, everybody. – TGIF!

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“Save the Astrodome. ~ Give new life to the Eighth Wonder of the World. ~ Vote Yes on Harris County Proposition 2.”

Tags: denial in sports

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