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Bad day in Knoxville
So what's left of the NCAA is coming to town.
(Side note: Feel free to insert your favorite NCAA joke here. Mine will always be the "NCAA was so mad at Kentucky, they gave Cleveland State two more years of probation," as Jerry Tarkanian famously said.)
(Side question on the side note: Tark the Shark, wicked underrated as a coach, but it has to rank among the Rushmore of rhyming nicknames right? Clyde the Glide seems forever applicable. What else?)
Anywell, so UT is under NCAA scrutiny for NIL issues.
Does this not beg the following questions:
Can you have NIL issues since the entire NIL issue is an issue because there seems to be few details and regulations that define the issue;
Does the NCAA really have any authority anymore, because Jim Harbaugh could be stealing the launch codes and all he got was a couple of suspensions before winning the title and walking off to the SoCal sunshine; (Side question: Can we all agree that the Chargers will forever be a San Diego team, and conversely, can we also agree that Ron Burgandy's explanation of how San Diego got it's name is the one we should embrace? You stay classy San Diego. Discuss.)
Yeah, we could go through the whole alphabet at this point, but let's just get to the rules and let Paschall share his college football insight.
Whatever, and at this point, when the core tenet of cheating — you know, paying the players — is actually allowed legally, what is the definition of NCAA infractions? Jim Harbaugh to the khaki courtesy phone. Coach Harbaugh to the khaki phone please.
This became public knowledge Tuesday afternoon, and then Tuesday night the Big Orange was bigly bagged by South Carolina in Knoxville.
Seems like, some blowhard sports columnist said in a place roughly similar to this one, tha USC coach Lamont Paris should be considered for national coach of the year.
Some balked at such a suggestion, and that was fine.
UT coach Rick Barnes was more than complimentary of Paris' job to date after the Vols got vanquished. (Here's more from Paschall, because, you know dude is on it. Side question: If Paschall got paid by the word considering how much he writes for the local fish-wrapper, he could be a Lupton, no?)
That win all but punches Lamont's and South Carolina's NCAA ticket, no?
Hmmmmmmmm. Sounds like Coach of the Year stuff to me.
And to Barnes too apparently.
Bad injury (and rule?)
Joel Embiid got hurt last night. The Philadelphia star center was having a monster season and likely was the frontrunner for NBA MVP.
Dude scored more than a high school QB1 with a cool car and good hair.
But his injury side tracks and brings to the forefront a sneaky rule change that is going to be a hot topic today and in the days to come.
Did you know that players had to play in at least 65 games to be considered for individual awards like MVP or to make first-, second- or third-team All-NBA?
It was a rule installed in the needed effort to curtail the "load management" movement. (Side question: Man, the phrase "Load Management" sounds like a Shannon Tweed movie Vader would have watched on Skinemax back in the day, right?)
NBA stars were sitting often, and that was an issue the league needed to address because no one wants to pay top-dollar for seats to a Hawks-Lakers game because your kid loves LeBron only for LeBron to show up in street clothes.
It had become a glaring issue for the league.
But now, with Embiid's injury — and the return to the lineup of Tyreese Haliburton, who missed 10 games with a hamstring injury after a dazzling start to the season with Indiana — the harshness of the 65-game minimum is quite clear.
NBA player contracts and extensions are elevated on individual accomplishments. If a player wins MVP or makes an All-NBA team, he qualifies for the 'super' max when it comes to renegotiations.
If he does check those boxes, it could cost someone like Halliburton as much as $40 million when his next contract comes up.
The need to address star players skipping out to 'rest' and manage their load was clear.
But it also looks like some further tweaks may be needed moving forward, no?
Own worst enemy
No, this is not about the Steelers hiring Arthur Smith to be their OC. (Somewhere Steeler Fan is shaking his head and wondering when George Pickens will got full-blow Antonio Brown on Smith's run-now, run-next, run-forever scheme.)
This is about the PGA Tour, which truly is trying to make the Mark Emmert NCAA and the Sepp Whosehiscleats FIFA look like well-oiled machines.
Yes, two of the top players in the world — and two of the top Euro Ryder Cuppers — have left for the LIV in recent months.
But moreover than Jon Rahm's and Tyrell Hatton's decisions to R-U-N-N-O-F-T, the latest failed leadership falls into the sponsor exemptions handed out for the Pebble Beach tournament this weekend.
Here's more, and know that three of the four invitees to the event went to players on the Tour's player advisory board, which screams of conspiracy.
And the anonymous voices in the story do not hold back.
Man, someone cue the Benny Hill music.
This and that
— More Lookouts hubbub. Yikes. And the lead quote from TFP business ace Mike Pare about Tim Kelly talking about being a used car salesman made my heart happy. No kidding Tim. Some would say you are still a used car salesman, but now you doing it with gubbermint benefits.
— Man, Colin Cowherd is good at sports radio. Here is his soliloquy on Taylor Swift and the angst she has generated by being an NFL squeeze. Side note: Economists have estimated Swift's presence to be worth more than $311 million to the Chiefs and the NFL. Shake that off friends.
— Speaking of the Swiftie Bowl, the tickets are the most pricey ever. Side note: Vegas should host this thing every three years. Same with the Final Four and the college football playoff title game. You should book that. (See what I did there Spy?)
Today's questions
Which Way Wednesday starts this way:
Which former UTC coach since Mack McCarthy was the best? Because Lamont sure looks pretty excellent right about now?
Discuss.
Which national sports radio host is your favorite?
Which celebrity/star-athlete couple through the years was your favorite?
As for today, the final day of January, let's review.
Also, man January really drags, right? It feels like the 63rd of January rather than the 31st.
Wow, a baseball trio of all-timers was born on this day, as Jackie Robinson, Ernie Banks and Nolan Ryan celebrate birthdays today.
Let's go with Nolan, and is there a cooler inverted name that Ryan Nolan, who could have been just as awesome as Nolan Ryan?
Rushmore of best celebrity names reversed. Go.