Photo Credits: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Food for Thought is my brand-new monthly series of op-eds. Every month, it will present a brief analysis of a variety of topics of relevance to the sport and popular landscapes. It is loosely modeled after a similar occasional series named "Random Thoughts (on the Passing Scene)" published by American economist Thomas Sowell within the syndicated column he was involved with for nearly a quarter of a century ending in 2016.
Last week's Thursday Night Football saw a highly entertaining matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns in what was yet another upset by the 3-8 Browns against a Lombardi Trophy contender.
Cleveland prevailed at home in the snow blizzard by 24-19 in a game where the Browns offense wasn't particularly prolific in any aspect despite putting up almost 30 points against a top-10 defense in the league from a yardage standpoint. Jameis Winston registered a passer rating of just 76.0 garnered with a pick, while the rushing faction averaged just 3.1 yards per carry.
However, the game ball certainly goes to the Browns' ground defense. With the Steelers running the ball more than throwing it, they averaged just 3.5 yds/rush on 34 plays. Pittsburgh already was amongst the worst teams in the league in the running department but their game average was even lower this week. This offset the effectiveness showcased by Russell Wilson and the passing stable, with the latter recording a passer rating of over 116.0. Furthermore, this success against the PIT running backs was a very positive sign for the Browns' rush defense, which ranks in the bottom 10 against RBs.
Photo Credits: Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
Out of the notable offensive weapons, only Jaylen Warren provided somewhat of a pleasant display. He averaged 4.1 yards per attempt but got just 11 carries. At the same time, Najee Harris had 2.6 yds/rush on 16 carries. Should Warren have gotten a bigger chunk of the pie, the Steelers' running efficiency would probably have been far better. Moreover, this likely would have resulted in more than the miserly 19 points Pittsburgh scored, considering the general problems Cleveland experience against the run.
One might call the phenomenon above a play-calling mishap by Mike Tomlin. And yet, the Steelers head coach has deserved to not receive blame or be put under pressure for potential errors. Yet, both the performance of Warren and Harris, and the distribution of carries between the two, are set to be the main storylines going forward for the Steeler offense and their vulnerable ground attack.
If the last two weeks have proven anything, it is that Pittsburgh is capable of the greatest heroics against some of the best teams in pro football (the Ravens and the Commanders games coming to mind), as well as the worst of performances against what should on paper be routine opponents. Many experts on television have spoken about how top AFC contenders would be very worried about meeting the Steelers in an elimination game. While that is true, this will be relevant only if the Steelers don't first crumble and make their path to meaningful games hard to impossible.
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Last week, libertarian-leaning Republican US Rep. Thomas Massie once again criticized the US government's measures related to the war in Ukraine. Specifically, he touched upon the authorization of "Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike inside Russia" (Fox News). Opposition towards US and NATO involvement in the conflict has long been the main position of both the libertarian circles, including the Libertarian Party, and the disciples of Donald Trump, currently overwhelmingly dominating the GOP. Massie himself to a large extent fits both categories.
I'm sure for new-age chicken Republicans and libertarians it is an impeachable offense to harm Mother Russia. However, those of us who are sensible, and especially those whose parents have suffered from Russian aggression, respectfully disagree.
By authorizing long range missiles to strike inside Russia, Biden is committing an unconstitutional Act of War that endangers the lives of all U.S. citizens. This is an impeachable offense, but the reality is he’s an emasculated puppet of a deep state.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) November 18, 2024
https://t.co/5XDi0E16q1
That is not to say the pacificist ideal for a war-less world isn't noble or desirable. However, when a certain regime wants to destroy not just your country but your entire sphere of influence, you have no other choice but to stand your ground, powerfully and proactively. That includes sending troops abroad and spending (a lot of) money - not out of desire but out of necessity. Churchill understood it, F.D. Roosevelt understood it - why can't Trump, Massie and Ron Paul understand it?
Unfortunately, this simple truth seems to be incompatible with the ideological shift that libertarians and Republicans have undertaken. Unlike their ancestors representing the school of classical liberalism - the likes of Frédéric Bastiat, F.A. Hayek and Milton Friedman - libertarians now oppose all government spending, whatever the reason, which is practically unsound. The heavy majority of the GOP, meanwhile, has opted to become the eternal opposition to any position taken by the Democratic Party (just another characteristic that they have borrowed from modern Dems), even when they know their own suggestion is yet less healthy for the country and the West.
Democrats, for all their flaws, and presidential nominee Kamala Harris in particular, have expressed a marginally more sound position on this very issue. Despite all of his claims, Trump's election would, based on his promises for non-involvement and non-spending, weaken Ukraine and the West.
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Amongst North American conservatives and libertarians, and European classical liberals, labor unions have gained a very unfavorable reputation. That is a precedent - the concepts of labor unions and workers' rights have never been anything alien to the liberal or libertarian positions, without having the extreme socialist dogma attached to them.
However, there are some good reasons for that outrage. We need to go no further than 2021 to see the damage that unionist leaders do to advance nobody but themselves. Children were held from returning to in-person classes by teachers' unions and workers' unions meddled with governments to extend COVID-19 relief, disincentivizing workers from returning to work in such crucial situations as the COVID recession and the Suez Canal obstruction. To this very day, industries under government monopoly such as railroads and other public transport are closed multiple times per annum due to strikes.
But labor unions don't have to be counterproductive. In fact, should the relationship between a labor union and the capital-holders be healthy, without any side attempting to manipulate the other for as much as short-term gain and by using external influences such as media and NPOs, it can prove to be very mutually beneficial. The world of sport provides at least one good example of that for examination, and it comes from the Professional Darts Corporation.
When sports aficionados hear of darts and the PDC, they typically think of the World Darts Championship and perhaps the World Matchplay. However, one of its most landmark (and dare I say, underrated?) events is the UK Open. The UK Open, held every year in early March at Butlin's Resorts in Minehead, Somerset, has three key features that make it stand out - amateur qualifiers, the usage of eight different stages on Day One and, most importantly, the live, random, on-stage draw after each round starting from the third round.
Seeing the reactions of the fans as world-class matchups are drawn is a priceless sight that currently exists nowhere else in the world of sport. Well, holding it live and on the stage was actually the idea of the PDC players' labor union, the Professionals Darts Players' Association (PDPA). It was among the factors that spiked the popularity of the event, resulting in more earnings for all players as well as more profits for the PDC and its owners, Matchroom Sport and the Hearn family.
That is just one of many examples of how labor unions can be socially beneficial if they are not artificially given a disproportionally high degree of power in comparison to capital-holders or, in the case of public industries, the taxpayers.
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The Daily Mail reported on Thursday that the Football Association of England has set a quota stating "a minimum of 25 per cent of England men's team coaches to come from ethnically diverse backgrounds by 2028".
Everyone crying for affirmative action needs to examine whether it really benefits those whom it aims to help. That is all that matters in such situations because it is beyond certain that the overall quality within the given craft is sure to drop (despite the claims that "diversity is strength"). Yet, raw data proves that it is neither the former nor the latter.
According to the same report, the percentage currently stands at 19%. Apparently, if 25 percent constitutes equity, it is already nearly achieved.
Teodor Tsenov is an aspiring sportswriter and a HBO Bachelor of Arts graduate in International Sports Management at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in The Hague, the Netherlands. Moreover, he has previously covered NFL, MLB, the New York Jets and the Miami Marlins for Franchise Sports (UK) and Overtime Heroics (USA). You can reach out to him on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram, and via email tedogoshov@gmail.com.
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