Jeff Fisher’s mediocrity worth 2 days
Doughnut Hole Day. Wooden Roller Coaster Day. Wear One Sock to Work Day.
It seems everything has a specific day dedicated to it, but former Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher is special: He might just have two.
Last year around this time on the HBO preseason reality show Hard Knocks, Fisher ranted to his Rams’ players about how the franchise wasn’t going 7- 9.
He turned out to be right: The Rams actually went 4- 12, with Fisher compiling a 4- 9 record before being fired midseason. Before last season, Fisher’s 22- year head coaching career included a whole bunch of 7- 9 and 8- 8 seasons.
That led some people on social media to declare Tuesday that Aug. 8 was Jeff Fisher Day: After all, his teams finished 8- 8 five times ( 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006 and 2009 with the Tennessee Titans).
The only problem was many more had celebrated Jeff Fisher Day on July 9: His teams finished 7- 9 four times ( 1995 and 2001 with the Titans; 2013 and 2015 for the Rams).
The Twitterverse debate will rage on, but Fisher’s first season with the Rams in 2012 was a pivotal year in the controversy. On Nov. 11 of that year, San Francisco kicker David Akers’ 33yard field goal with three seconds remaining forced an overtime with the Rams. No one scored in the extra period, and the Rams finished that season 7- 8- 1.
If the 49ers would have won, Jeff Fisher Day would be a real conundrum. Instead, 8- 8 is the dominant record on Fisher’s resume.
So unless Fisher gets another gig in the NFL, Aug. 8 is the true day to celebrate coaching mediocrity. New level of gaming?
Video gamers could be competing for Olympic medals by 2024.
Tony Estanguet, co- president of the Paris Olympic bid committee, said he will hold talks with e- sports representatives and the International Olympic Committee about the possibility of gaming joining the 2024 program.
The explosion in popularity of e- sports events — drawing large crowds of youngsters to arenas for tournaments — has already seen gaming embraced by the Asian Games. It will become a full sport by the 2022 edition, although details of which games will be contested are not known.
Paris will be confirmed as 2024 hosts at an IOC gathering in Lima, Peru, next month after its only competitor, Los Angeles, agreed to take the 2028 Games.
Estanguet believes that a contest of digital prowess should be considered a legitimate sport if the Olympics is to maintain its relevance for new generations of fans.
“We have to look at it because we can’t say, ‘ It’s not us. It’s not about Olympics,’ ” Estanguet said. “The youth, yes they are interested in e- sport and this kind of thing. Let’s look at it. Let’s meet them. Let’s try if we can find some bridges.
“I don’t want to say ‘ no’ from the beginning. I think it’s interesting to interact with the IOC, with them, the e- sports family, to better understand what the process is and why it is such a success.”
The 2024 program will start to be shaped in 2019 with a final decision on the addition of sports in Paris to be taken by the IOC after the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“There is some time to look at it, to interact, to engage,” Estanguet said. “We will spend some time after [ the IOC meeting in September] Lima to engage with new people and stakeholders. The IOC will have the last … say, if they want e- sports on the program. Let’s discuss among ourselves.”