Cal Icon Passes; Fox Pushes 24; NFL's Traveling Circus; Stanford's Friday Night Blight; Okorie Going Pro
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- 5 min read
Cal football legend Craig Morton passed away last week at the age of 83.
Morton was an All-American quarterback at Cal, first round NFL draft pick, 18-year NFL veteran, and the first quarterback to lead two different teams to the Super Bowl (a feat later accomplished by Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady).
Morton came to Cal after being a three-sport star in football, baseball and basketball at Campbell High School in the South Bay.
During his career in Berkeley, he passed for a school record 4,501 yards and 36 touchdowns.
In his senior year, 1964, he led the nation in passing yardage (2,121) and set conference records for pass attempts and completions in the old AAUW (Athletic Association of Western Universities), which would later become the Pac-8, earning first team All-America honors despite the fact his team finished with a 3-7 record.
He was drafted No. 5 in the first round of the NFL draft by Dallas and went on to play nine years with the Cowboys (1965-73), three with the New York Giants ('74-76) and six with the Denver Broncos ('77-82).
Morton is best known for being involved in a quarterback controversy with Roger Staubach, standing tall in the pocket and delivering strikes down the field, taking the Cowboys (1970) and Broncos (1977) to the Super Bowl, and playing hurt--he once came out of the hospital to lead Denver to a playoff win.
His best year was 1977, when he led the Broncos to a 12-2 record, finished second in the league's MVP voting, and was named Sporting News Player of the Year and NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
I got to know Craig, whose actual first name was Larry, when he was a member of the Board of Directors of the post-season bowl game I ran for 15 years, the Emerald/Kraft Fight Hunger/Foster Farms Bowl. He was always a patient, thoughtful and enthusiastic voice.
Like many former NFL quarterbacks, he suffered the painful physical vestiges of sacks, knockdowns and injuries for the rest of his life. But unlike many other NFL greats, he was a kind, sweet, humble man.
I knew he'd been sick for a while. A couple years ago, he was coming down from Marin to Danville to have lunch with me at Pete's Brass Rail & Car Wash, a place he had suggested. But on the day of our lunch, Craig didn't show. I called and left a message when he didn't pick up.
The next day his wife, Kim Galloway, called me with the news he was in the hospital with sepsis. That morning he had suddenly remembered, "I was supposed to have lunch with Gary yesterday! Can you please call him for me and apologize?”
No apology needed.
That's the kind of guy he was.
RIP my friend.
Fox Pushes CFP Expansion: We often speak of the "TV Monster" that now controls college football, and how the conference commissioners have sold their souls to the TV networks.
Well, it turns out that Fox is behind the ridiculous push to increase the College Football Playoff to 24 teams.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti has been leading the charge for 24 at the behest of Fox, which is co-owner of the Big Ten Network.
Fox is no doubt chafing because the last three national champions--Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana--have come from the Big Ten, yet the league's network has to sit on the sidelines and watch ESPN televise the entire playoff (although a few early round games were sold to TNT).
USA Today's Matt Hayes put it quite succinctly: "Are we really headed down the dangerous road of doubling the CFP field, of endangering a near bulletproof product by watering it down, just to appease some suits in Los Angeles who blew it during the first bid to televise the 12-team CFP?"
Well, if Petitti and Fox have their way, that's exactly where this is headed.
NFL's International Folly: Is there anything sillier than the NFL's international schedule?
As part of what CBS commentator J.J. Watt, the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, referred to as the league's "traveling circus," the NFL has scheduled a record nine international games this season.
Along with the usual trips to London and Mexico City, the league is also headed down under for the first time with a game set for Melbourne, Australia, as well as the NFL's first date in Paris.
So the 49ers and Rams, two teams located 400 miles apart in California, will travel over seven thousand miles to play each other in Australia on Sept. 10.
For what? So Roger Goodell and his cronies can sell more NFL logoed merchandise overseas?
As if they need the money.
The 49ers clearly drew the short straw this year, as they also have to go international again to play Minnesota in Mexico City Nov. 22.
Which means the 49ers will become the first NFL team to play in two foreign countries in the same season and log more than 38,000 airline miles, a league record.
I know Coach Kyle Shanahan will really appreciate the extra travel for his aging team.
And we'll all enjoy those 9 a.m. kickoffs.
Friday Night Blight: Unfortunately, the ACC and ESPN schedule makers dealt Stanford football a bad hand by scheduling the Cardinal's week 2 game with powerhouse Miami on Friday night, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m.
Friday night games never draw well at Stanford. Between the aging fan base, the traffic congestion of people leaving work right before kickoff, and the competition from high school games, Friday kickoffs translate to smallish crowds in Stanford Stadium.
To make matters worse, the Cardinal's game with North Carolina State, originally listed as Oct. 23 or 24 on the schedule, has also been slated for Friday night the 23rd.
So the home schedule includes a game no one wants to see, against a school called Elon, and two Friday night contests that never draw.
It's going to be a very tough sell for Andrew Luck, Tavita Pritchard and co.
Okorie to Leave: According to ESPN and the San Francisco Chronicle, Stanford basketball standout Ebuka Okorie has informed his coaches that he will remain in the upcoming NBA draft and not return to the Farm for his sophomore season.
Which is a damn shame.
And not the best decision for the young man.
Okorie wasn't recruited by anyone other than Stanford and the Ivy League coming out of high school. He had a brilliant freshman year, averaging 23 points per game to lead the ACC.
But he's only 6-1 1/8. and he converted only 53 per cent of his drives to the rim.
The NBA's players are taller, faster, and tougher than the players Okorie went up against last year in college. His conversion at the rim will slide further. He will need to bulk up and improve on his three point shot (35% at Stanford) to succeed in the pros.
Another year in college would've given him a chance to get stronger, improve his passing, 3-point shooting and defense, and gain the maturity and poise he needs to do well as a pro.
And the money as, say, the 28th pick in the first round, $2,319,900, is about the same as the NIL guarantee he would command at Stanford.
I believe it's a mistake, the same one his Stanford predecessors Tyrell Terry and Ziaire Williams made.
Recommended Reading: If you are a fan of the Warriors, and have some time this week, read this brilliant story on Steve Kerr by Wright Thompson from ESPN.com. It's long, but well worth it. Our thanks to Bob Rose for sending it over.
