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Marc Trestman had his introductory press conference as coach of the Chicago Bears on Thursday at Halas Hall in Lake Forest, Ill. Some view him as an offensive visionary. Which the Bears surely can use. Some view him as the man who will help quarterback Jay Cutler achieve elite status that has been so elusive in his career.
If the 2013 Bears look halfway as good as Maria DiNello, a lot of folks will be happy. Credit: Bersano Photography
And then there are some of us who view the 57-year-old successor to Lovie Smith as the coach most likely to snag an endorsement deal for Grecian Formula. Not to be confused with the folks who view Trestman, the former Montreal Alouettes coach, as a man in need of an American hairicut. Some would say he has spent too much time in Canada, where there may be some difference in fashion sense. Eh?
Then there is the voluntary departure of defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli. His exit will be the downfall of the defense, a team strength. Well, unless he is replaced. Which he will be. Media are little different from other human beings (and, yes, the media are human beings). They tend to dislike change. After all, new relationships have to be forged, as possible sources head elsewhere.
One thing you can say about general manager Phil Emery’s hire: If Emery was looking for someone who seems like he might share some of he same DNA, he appears to have his man.
Speaking of football, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o was going to meet the media but did not. There is a lot of curiosity regarding the claim he was a victim of a hoax involving an imaginary girlfriend and her death during the football season.
Notre Dame said Te’o is the victim of a hoax. Maybe. Maybe not.
Sooner or later, this is going to be a subject that he is going to have to tackle. Maybe the delay is a bit of coaching from PR specialists working with him on projecting imaginary sincerity.
Speaking of talking, Lance Armstrong’s interview with Oprah Winfrey was Thursday night on her network. Good thing the show lasted 1.5 hours. It took almost that long for some of us to find OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network). He admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs while he was winning seven Tour de France titles.
A photo of Lariyah Daniels or one of Lance Armstrong? Yeah, that was a hard decision.
I have to admit to watching only a few minutes of the taped session. There is only so much time in the day and the chance that the cyclist was going to say anything worth hearing — other than a heartfelt apology, which apparently was nowhere around — was minimal at best. I was watching when he said he had lost track of how many people he had sued in maintaining his innocence.
From the few minutes that I viewed, there was one question that I was hoping Oprah would ask: “Are you on something now?”
He was merely a guy going through 90 minutes — minus the all-important commercial time — of an interrogation that he certainly had prepared for. If this was to have been the start of some sort of redemptive chapter in his live, it surely didn’t work. Not with the skeptics, the non-believers, the people who have said for some time that Armstrong was a fraud. And worse.
After the interview, the Livestrong Foundation issued a statement:
“We at the Livestrong Foundation are disappointed by the news that Lance Armstrong misled people during and after his cycling career, including us. Earlier this week, Lance apologized to our staff and we accepted his apology in order to move on and chart a strong, independent course. We look forward to devoting our full energy to our mission of helping people not only fight and survive cancer, but also thrive in life after cancer.
Even in the wake of our disappointment, we also express our gratitude to Lance as a survivor for the drive, devotion and spirit he brought to serving cancer patients and the entire cancer community. Lance is no longer on the Foundation’s board, but he is our founder and we will always be grateful to him for creating and helping to build a Foundation that has served millions struggling with cancer.
The Livestrong Foundation is one of the most highly-rated and effective cancer organizations in the United States. Our success has never been based on one person – it’s based on the patients and survivors we serve every day, who approach a cancer diagnosis with hope, courage and perseverance.”
Uh, wait a minute. Take away Lance Armstrong and there’s no Livestrong. Take away his hero status built on fraud, and there’s no Livestrong. Before it was Livestrong, it was the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
And then there’s Nike, which has a line of Livestrong product
“Nike does not condone the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs in any manner. We love sport and believe in the integrity of competition.
“We terminated our contract with Lance Armstrong in October 2012. We remain saddened after being misled for more than a decade.
“Nike plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer.”
And no better way than by selling consumer goods with the Livestrong name attached.
It has been a while since we last saw one of this site’s favorites, April Rose. Well, here she is:
Monica Murphy-Vargas was a great guest with David Spada (left) and Elliott Harris.
Another edition of “Sports & Torts” with co-hosts David Spada and Elliott Harris has been placed in the Talkzone.com archives. The highly acclaimed interview program (well, it is held in such regard in the Spada and Harris households, among other locales with discerning taste), which broadcasts live in Thursdays at noon on talkzone.com, was thrilled to have two great guests on the Jan. 17 show.
Featured were Baltimore Colts legend Lenny Moore and Monica Murphy-Vargas, founder of SportsDivas, Inc. The Chicago-based company has a sports-themed web site www.sportsdivasinc.com that is geared toward women but suitable for all genders.
For those who missed Thursday’s show — or those who would like to enjoy it again — you can link to the show by clicking here.
Here is where we go for some video:
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