The Trouble With College Athletics
These are not happy times in the college sports industry. Alabama has been rocked by a wide-ranging athletic scandal, one that could strip the football team of 21 victories.
It seems the Crimson Tide got wrapped up in a textbook scam. Long story short, athletes were able to get free textbooks for their buddies.
This doesn’t sound like a big deal, but Alabama has had an unhappy history of breaking various NCAA rules. It’s the SEC, after all.
So the Crimson Tide took a hard fall as a repeat offender.
At USC, basketball coach Tim Floyd resigned under pressure, amid allegations that he paid recruiting middlemen. The O.J. Mayo allegations came after myriad questions arose about former Trojans football star Reggie Bush.
At Memphis, accusations of academic fraud have been made against players in the old John Calipari regime. Did somebody else take Derrick Rose’s entrance exam to get him into school?
These headlines remind us that running a billion-dollar sports industry on the labor of amateur “student-athletes” is tricky stuff.
INDIANS GIVE ROYALS THE BIRD
There are a lot of hard ways to lose a ballgame. But Royals centerfielder Coco Crisp, a former Cardinals farmhand, encountered something new Thursday.
In the 10th inning in a 3-3 game at Cleveland, he swooped in on Shin-Soo Choo’s single to center field as base runner Mark DeRosa headed from second toward third. But the baseball clipped the wing of a low-flying bird and skipped away from Crisp as DeRosa scored the winning run.
“Crazy things happen in this game,” Crisp told reporters after the game. “It was hit so sharply, I felt like I had a chance (to throw out DeRosa at home). You never know what the heck is going to happen.”
No word on whether PETA plans to stage a protest on behalf of the clipped bird.
MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
Questions to ponder while waiting for Todd Wellemeyer to pound the ball lower in the strike zone:
- Do you get the idea that Rick Ankiel doesn’t want to surrender center field to Colby Rasmus?
- Will the Yankees ever beat the Red Sox again?
- Who is dressing John Daly these days?
- If Steve Nash wants to get into broadcasting, shouldn’t he do something with that hair?
- If Chris Osgood wins tonight’s game, will he earn his ticket to the Hockey Hall of Fame? How weird would that be?
- Wouldn’t the St. Louis sports scene become more interesting with Rush Limbaugh owning the Rams? Would the national media have a field day with this or what?
IN SEARCH OF: PITCHING
Unemployed veteran pitchers can expect to get more calls during the weeks ahead, as more big league pitchers fail or get hurt. The Rangers have decided to audition Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez, who has been out of baseball since 2007.
Texas players who grew up watching Hernandez pitch are glad to have him in the organization.
“I am completely pumped about it. If you ask any player that’s been around a while your first reaction to El Duque is unbelievable competitor. He flat-out gets after it,” infielder Michael Young said. “I can’t wait. I have a very high opinion of the guy.”
Somewhere out there, Mark Mulder is still awaiting The Call.
AT LEAST THEY CAN ACT
Tipsheet missed this great Cavaliers promo, spoofing a beer commercial, earlier this year.
QUIPS ‘R US
Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:
Rick Morrissey, Chicago Tribune: “While I was watching Kobe Bryant the other night, it occurred to me that, in essence, I was watching a tribute band. You probably have heard of groups that try to copy rock stars’ music, clothes and accessories, right down to the commemorative hookahs. There are, for example, faux Beatles and cloned Doors out there trying to make a living on the road. Bryant could be the best player in NBA history, but he never will be looked at that way for one simple reason. You can’t out-Michael Jordan Michael Jordan.”
Jay Mariotti, Fanhouse: “The NBA Finals would be tied at 2-2 today if Dwight Howard, so-called Superman, knew how to make a free throw. It’s not that he hasn’t tried to improve, spending countless nights in the gym with friends who don’t let him leave until he makes 300 and the final 20 — requiring him to start over even if he misses after 19. He visualizes at the free-throw line. He hums hip-hop rhythms at the free-throw line. He breathes in, breathes out. But none of those tricks helped Howard with 10.4 seconds left in regulation, when the Magic had an 87-84 lead and needed him to make one foul shot so they could exhale and likely win Game 4. He clanked both.”
Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com: “Daly had to wait until mid-June at the St. Jude Classic because of a six-month, PGA Tour-imposed suspension. He was spending a little too much time in orange jail jumpsuits, which isn’t exactly the image the tour is going for. So it banished Daly. Again. And now he’s back. Again. Why will this comeback be any different from his others? Who says it will be different? The one constant in Daly’s life is chaos. He always seems to lose a tire, leak a quart of oil, blow a transmission. And out of control he’ll go, caroming into self-destruction.”
MEGAPHONE
“It’s not that we’re getting momentum by winning games - it’s that we’re getting momentum with our players. David (Ortiz) is starting to feel it. Josh (Beckett) is starting to feel it. Our bullpen is starting to feel it. We’ve got to stay on this wave. Ride it out.”
Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, according to the New York Daily News.
Although cheating continues to be rampant the NCAA doesn’t have the courage to hit any programs with the “Death Penalty.” Looks like SMU will continue to be the answer to trivia questions.
Lots to comment on today:
How about that NL Central! Thanks to the Brewers for getting swept by the Rockies after we got swept by the Rockies. How the Cards can be only 1/2 game out after the stretch we’ve had is a testament to our division.
Good comeback win yesterday. That was a serious shot in the arm that this ballclub needed. Ludwick needed that confidence booster, and Rasmus is starting to find his groove. Let’s hope we don’t get pounded at the Jake this weekend.
@Chief: I hear what you are saying, although I am not sure that Alabama had any serious violations to warrant the death penalty. “Textbook scandal” almost sounds funny to me.
On a broader note, I have no respect for the NCAA. They make piles of cash thanks to these kids and have a rulebook that rivals the U.S. tax code. The rule Alabama broke wasn’t one of the obscure ones (everyone knows you can’t give these kids anything except the time of day), but it takes an army of people to make sure that a program is in compliance with it. Sure, I know the kids have a chance at a college degree and the money helps support a lot of other sports programs that otherwise couldn’t exist at these schools, but it is really such a crime to give a poor black kid a few textbooks? Programs have got slapped for such similiar egrigious acts as someone buying them pizza on a Saturday night. Give me a break. The pure innocence act that the NCAA puts on is such a ridiculous fabrication.
Bring on game 7 of the Stanley Cup baby! I just hope it is a good game and not a blowout like game 5 was. Getting together with some fellow hockey fans and watching the game. Should be a blast.
@20/20: What do you think about the NBA rule that a kid has to go to college for one year before they can turn pro? I think it is a stupid rule personally.
Arghh! just when the Cards are turning things around, Dwight Howard goes all “Nick Anderson” and throws the series so now I have to listen to these friggin Kobe fans gloat for the next week and slap them down when they have the nads to say he’s better than Jordan…at least it’s Friday!
Tim, spot on the NCAA. overall NCAA football/basketball is probably the most corrupt athletic competiton we watch, all the way from slimy recruiting at junior high schools up to the hypocrite school presidents with their crazy rule book and back-room deals (example: NCAA tournament selection committee). The one and done rule is another joke, another silly move by David Stern who is way overrated. hand me the Magic/Bird rivalry for 10 years and I could be considered a great commish also! I don’t think they can go back from it though, and it would take 10 years to get it pushed up to three years or 20 years old where it needs to be to actually have credibility…
Rush Limbaugh is a pompous arse, keep him away from here.
Doesn’t look like the ball actually a bird, he just lost it, still a bad way to end a game.
Dirka, he is a Missouri boy and will keep the Rams in St Louis. He used to work for the Royals so he actually has experience with pro sports. What, you’d rather have a genial sort that will move the team to LA? Beggars can’t be choosers dude. If nothing else the Rams will be that more interesting…
Rush would be fine as an owner. If the team doesn’t win, he can just blame the losses on the liberal media: “The liberal media only covers our losses! They want us to lose! The Activist Referees are practicing reverse discrimination! The NFL practices socialism!” etc. Except on the last point he’d be right.
First of all I would like to thank MLB for scheduling a middle of the week series against the Marlins down here in Florida. That makes them 5 for 5 since I’ve been here. Can’t make that 4 hour drive when a man’s got to feed his family.
Secondly, Dwight Howard, as much as I love the kid is far from Superman. He has no low post moves and is a terrible free throw shooter. If Nelson takes the ball to the rack and draws the foul instead of passing it to Baby Shaq it would be 2-2 but Howard isn’t the only guilty party in the missed FT dept. Don’t get me started on Hedon’t.
@Tim, sorry dude and I mean this with as much respect as possible since I really do enjoy your posts but your facts on the Alabama rule violations are all wrong. They weren’t giving poor black kids free text books. The athletes were getting free textbooks that were meant for them and supplying to friends and others and making money from selling them. Not really the same as a free pizza or even free sneakers.
And last but not least, a big thanks to the Rockies for keeping the Brew Crew’s shirts tucked in the last 4 nights in a row. Although I do feel bad for Bob Uecker, I love that guy.
It’s Friday! After watching Albert Pujols rip the ball tonight, I’m gonna get my poo hole waxed for my late night down at Central West End.
ALL D-1 COLLEGE PLAYERS GET PAID! i played d-1 hoops at a midlevel school and saw rampant rule violations. ok, maybe not all players get paid, exaggerated, but it does happen a ton…and i can tell you, this, the “come to bama, we’ll give you textbooks!” is not a worthwhile recruiting line. i have no problem w/ the idea of legalizing d-1 college players getting paid to play sports - and here’s why…yes, they do get a free education, room/board, etc. just like other scholarships (academic, military, women, minority, etc) do. HOWEVER…athletes have mandatory time committments and generate HUGE sums of money for the university on an annual basis. as a d-1 basketball player, i had to be done w/ class by noon (so i had 8ams everyday), and then practiced from 1230-7pm daily (lifting weights, running, practice, film, icing knees). plus, the weekly travel was ridiculous. a 7pm road game meant leaving campus at noon, a 3-5 hour bus trip, or flight, a 7pm game…done at 9, leave by 10, eat dinner and get back to campus at 3am on a weekday, and then be in class 5 hours later? whew. pay them, the players spend tons of time to help earn the school tons of money!