Brian Kelly Is Wrong. And He's Right, Too

Caught an interesting quote from Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly in this story from ND Insider (h/t: SB Nation). In it, Kelly states that basically, all of his football players are probably at-risk students:

I think we recognized that all of my football players are at-risk — all of them — really. Honestly, I don’t know that any of our players would get into the school by themselves right now with the academic standards the way they are. Maybe one or two of our players that are on scholarship.

So making sure that with the rigors that we put them in — playing on the road, playing night games, getting home at 4 o’clock in the morning, all of the demands that we place on them relative to the academics and going into an incredibly competitive academic classroom every day — we recognize this is a different group.

And we have to provide all the resources necessary for them to succeed and don’t force them into finding shortcuts.

I think we’ve clearly identified that we need to do better, and we’re not afraid to look at any shortcomings that we do have and fix them, and provide the resources necessary for our guys. Our university has looked at that, and we’re prepared to make sure that happens for our guys.

There's quite a bit to unpack there. Some hyperbole, and some truth.

Maybe Jim Delany is Right

Photo: Jerry Lai/USA Today

I am not a huge fan of the Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany. I've found him in the past to be excessively rigid, dogmatic and a hectoring sort of individual. This is not to say that he has not done good things, but I am not a fan of the man from what I have seen at a distance.

So I went into the reading of his white paper on freshman ineligibility (titled "Education First, Athletics Second") with a healthy dose of skepticisim. Granted, when he started talking about the idea of a "Year of Readiness" I had no clue exactly how much thought had gone into it.

I have to admit...I was surprised.

Not by the level of thought that was put into the paper, but by my inclination to agree with the points being made and actually being in support of the idea.

NCAA Reform Number One: Let Student Athletes Get Money On Their Own

When I first started going to college lo so many years ago, I would have painted myself as firmly in the camp of stating that student athletes who were receiving scholarships should not be paid. Period.

However, as I spent time on campus and then became a higher education professional (and now part time sports blogger/analyst), my position evolved and changed. Of course, the cost of attendance at most schools around the country has spiraled out of control over the last 15-20 years.

Yes, an athlete is receiving, in some places, an education valued at nearly $40,000/year or more (and possibly much more when some schools start paying the full cost of attendance). The howls from those who believe that student athletes should not receive any additional compensation grow loud.

The hurdle of Title IX is also in place as well, and as costs increase across the board, important decisions are going to have to be made in regards to the place of Olympic sports and their sustainability going forward.

Of course, another option could have/should have been pursued. It might not be any more than a patch, but it also reflects a reality that, sadly, the NCAA brass and administrators seem to be missing.

Allow for the student athletes to receive their scholarships, and also allow them to monetize outside of the scope of the program.

In other words, let them profit off of their talent and ability and the fame that comes along with that.

Maybe We Should Stop Calling Student Athletes Kids.

The 2015 NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament wrapped up last night, with the Duke Blue Devils walking away with shards of a net, a new floor if they want it, and the satisfaction of a successful championship season being completed.

And they'll head either back to class or off to prepare for the next phase of their lives (even if that seems to annoy the senior Senator from Missouri for some reason. But that's another post.).

I consume a lot of sports media. Not as much as I used to, because I just have more important things to do, but more than a sane person probably should. And with my interest/expertise being in the realm of the college experience and intercollegiate athletics, I spend a lot of time reading about and listening to people blabber about college athletes.

I constantly hear sportswriters, analysts and commentators refer to the young men and women as "kids".

It irks me, to be quite honest.

Colin Cowherd Would Rather Blow Out His Nonexistent Brain Than His Knee. OK.

Colin Cowherd is slime.

His reptilian, repugnant, race baiting and elitist approach to sports radio has been document multiple places multiple times (just go hit Google to find the list too long for me to link directly to).

But today’s commentary on what New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said during an interview on Jim Rome’s show on Showtime was too much.

Gronk basically said that he would rather suffer a knee injury or a concussion. Gronk’s response was, well, telling:

“[S]o if we’re sitting here and I had choose would I want a concussion right now or my knee blown out, I’m going to say a concussion. Why would I want to sit there for eight months and not do anything, when with a concussion I’ll just wake up and I’ll be ready to go again.”

Thank you Dr. Gronkowski.

Cowherd—that noted M.D., PhD and scholar—waded into the discussion as well. Some of his choice quotes were:

Make Sure You Fit As A Coach

Lots of jokes have been made about Larry Brown’s wandering eye.

Yahoo’s Pat Forde called Bobby Petrino “The Disingenuous Drifter” at one point for interviewing for job after job after job.

I even wrote a piece commenting on Mike Anderson leaving Missouri for Arkansas and mentioned the numerous flirtations he had racked up during his tenure in Columbia.

And each time the coaching carousel spins in college sports, the conversation about what is a good job/great job/best job in college football or basketball comes up.

I would not wish the itinerant wandering by most of the coaches upon anyone. Looking at the work histories of some longtime assistant coaches is enough to make you feel for them and their families, and the lack of roots somewhere is horrifying in many respects. It’s a hard life, no matter how much they may be compensated for the experience.

Unfinished Products Expected to be Great

I don’t know about you, but I know that I was not fully formed as a professional entering my field when I was 21. Hell, when I was 21 I was actually still in school getting the preparation I needed to become a professional in my chosen occupation.

Even at 31, I was not a fully developed professional; I still made a lot of mistakes.

Today as I am in the midst of the first week at a new job, at the tender age of 36 on the cusp of turning 37…I am still learning and growing and changing.

I know, I know. I am in the field of education and not in the field of professional athletics. Believe me, I am made aware of that fact each and every day as I look at my bank account and my car.

I still feel, though, that the point in my lede stands: expecting someone to be a fully developed, fully formed professional when one is barely old enough to drink in most circumstances is ludicrous.

Yet when it comes to professional sports, and football in particular, that ludicrous notion seems to be the expected norm.

Dodd-ering Through the Impotent Rage of the Spurned Sportswriter

I’ve been amused by the idea that a certain member of the sports media felt entitled to an interview by an NFL player and took to Twitter very pissed off that he was denied the interview by the athlete.

Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports got salty for no reason after Aaron Rodgers declined his request for an interview. The entitlement that dripped from Dodd’s series of tweets was somewhere in the neighborhoods of amusing, sad and pathetic.

What got to me, though, was the fact that Dodd also seemed to be pissed off that Rodgers was on the floor for the celebration and then had the audacity to not want to speak to Dodd, someone who thinks of himself as a kingmaker, apparently, because he writes about people who play games for their education/vocation.

A Fever Dream Leads to a Return

I tossed and turned.

I was finding it difficult to get comfortable, as all these thoughts kept running through my head.

A quote from William Shakespeare: "It is a tale told by an idiot/full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" is followed by a video clip of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith shouting vile, nonsenical things at each other.

An adage: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt" is followed by images of the clickbait written by Clay Travis.

A quote from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective Sherlock Holmes: "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories instead of theories to suit facts" is followed by the sound of Colin Cowherd's nasal whine spewing forth all kinds of utter nonsense.

The swirling noise forced me to sit up and assess some things.

Why is it that those who yell the loudest these days get the attention that quieter, more competent people cannot? All the racebaiting and women hating drives eyeballs and ears to the televisions and the web. Traffic is king, I guess.

Trolling is easy and lazy to do. Make an outlandish outrageous statement and voíla-instant fame. 

I guess I want more. I guess I expect more. 

Can I bring more to the table? I don't know. But in this space I hope to accomplish more by shedding light on inane statements and nonsenical theories that seem to be circulating relatively unopposed. 

I won't be able to cover everything; I am only one person who has a family and a full-time job. And there is a lot of noise out there.

But by golly, we will try. 

Oh, no. Not another new blog

Oh, yes. It's true.

I've decided to take a different tack with the writing I am doing about college sports. I have put the label of the Pigskin Pundit to rest for the foreseeable future.

It has been interesting over the last five years to have spent time here. I only wish I had committed to it more. But sometimes, life happens and you just have to ride it out.

Feel free to visit me over on my new home on the web: Seventh Year Senior

NFL Draft Prospect Michael Sam Comes Out

Image courtesy of http://www.hrc.org/



Sometimes when you're laid up sick for a few days, and the weekend is rapidly coming to a close, you don't have time to pay attention to things that might be going on in the world. I was too busy getting caught up on the cleaning I couldn't do on Saturday, trying (and failing) to have my kid finish his book report for Thursday, and generally attempting to cram two days worth of errands into a small window.

So imagine my surprise when I hopped in my car this afternoon and heard the breaking news that former Missouri Tiger football player, All-American and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Michael Sam was gay.

Unbelievable.

Not that a gay football player is unbelievable; we know they exist. But to have one be so bold, so upfront, so honest...and before he is drafted into the NFL no less.

That's what is unbelievable.

The timing is crucial, and it does matter, as Cyd Zeigler points out in this behind the scenes story for Outsports.com. The fact that Sam was not out but not necessarily hiding deep in the closet either led to internet speculation and the story about his sexual orientation was not going to hold as long as they would have liked.

So the timetable was accelerated, and here we are on February 9, facing a bit of history.

The big question is: Now what?

On Caleb Hannan and his Dr. V. story

A piece went up recently on the ESPN/Bill Simmons site Grantland. Titled "Dr. V's Magical Putter" it was ostensibly a piece about a piece of golf equipment that, while unusual in appearance, seemed to work wonders for those who needed to improve their short game.

The writer, a freelancer from Denver named Caleb Hannan, wrote the long piece that started out as what looked like a personal essay about discovering this putter. Then...it went in a different direction.

As John Stansberry (of Lonely Tailgater) put it:

I don't think Bill Simmons pays a lick of attention to what goes up on Grantland. But if he does, Dr. V’s Magical Putter shoulda been nixed.
— Lonely Tailgater (@LonelyTailgater) January 18, 2014

Hard to argue with him upon further reading.

I want to point you towards a post by author Maria Dahvana Headley. Don't tell me it's too long; didn't read. Read the whole damn thing. Because it is by far one of the best things you're going to read about this situation.

My own thoughts? Well, there's this: Overall, I found the piece to be in desperate need of editing. I felt that the piece was too focused in on the writer and his thoughts/emotions/feelings throughout the duration of the article. It was an exercise in self-indulgence; too inwardly focused.

Now, maybe that inward focus is what led to my biggest issue with the article: the callous disregard of the person who ultimately became the true subject of the piece—Dr. Vanderbilt herself.