US women's soccer
News came forward Thursday morning that the U.S. women's soccer team has filed suit against the national governing body of soccer. Apparently, the U.S. women are suing for equal wages.
This is an interesting topic on a number of fronts.
First, equal pay in sports is a financial unicorn. It sounds nice in general, but - there's always a but right - but paychecks in sports should be determined by interest. Does women's golf get the same payouts as men's golf? The WNBA salaries to the NBA salaries? Of course not because the interest level - from fans, to TV numbers, to corporate sponsors to you name it - is no where close to the same.
This argument helps the U.S. women's soccer team, since the interest - and the success - is every bit as big and impressive as the national interest in the men's team. Remember when the U.S. women sold out Finley, and the monster crowd waited through torrential storms? Well, there's no way the men's team would have generated the same kind of support.
The discussion is even more pertinent with the recent claims and accusations in professional tennis. Women's tennis gets equal pay in the major championships despite playing fewer sets and, unless Serena is involved, doing it with much smaller crowds on TV and in person. (Yes, the tennis executive who stepped on his own tongue with his crash comments said the women should thank the men players. In truth, all of women's tennis should thank the Williams sisters every time they see them. The Williams sisters lifted interest in women's tennis every bit as much as Federer and Nadal revived interest in tennis in general.)
What does all of this mean in regard to the U.S. women's soccer team?
Well, the basis of the argument seems pretty clear. The interest level in the national women's team is every bit on par with that of the men. And if the discussion of payment goes beyond fiscal and physical interest and bridges toward the actual success on the pitch, well, the women have a slam dunk case.
The women's team is not happy unless they win the World Cup; we are celebrating the men beating Guatemala to strengthen its case to qualify for the World Cup.
So the emotional and factual standards make it appear clear that the women should get every bit as much financially - and in terms of travel allowances and perks - as their men counterparts. Heck, you can make the argument the women deserve more.
But, buried deep in this story on the matter is a very important detail.
The U.S. women's soccer team has a players' union which negotiated the terms of the deals and those terms were collectively bargained. So, in truth, the U.S. women's team has a great case for equal pay, but that case really appears to be more against its union than the national soccer federation.
Now the specific terms of that collectively bargained agreement are much debated and caused the U.S. soccer federation to sue the women's team last month to make sure they kept playing. The CBA expired in 2012, but both sides have operated under its guidelines and details since.
So, the women head to court. And that's their right, but the ultimate card here may force them to decide if they have to stop working.
And that means we are facing a very real possibility that the most prominent women's team in this country may have to sit out this summer's Olympics because of a labor dispute.
FILE - In this Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015, file photo, Atlanta Braves starter Mike Foltynewicz throws against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning of a baseball game, in Chicago. After life-threatening blood clots in his right shoulder ended his 2015 season, Braves right-handed pitcher Foltynewicz is slowly regaining his strength and hoping to be ready to contend for a rotation spot. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)Braves new order
Yes, baseball starts this weekend.
Yes, the Braves may have the worst roster in all of baseball.
Yes, we will preview a lot of this in Friday's mailbag. (Thanks for the question Chopper.)
That said, there is a discussion to be had about the Atlanta Braves. The organization continued to reshape its front office as the moves and transitions continue.
Think of all the unsettled things around this organization: The move to the new ballpark in 2017; the movement on the horizon for a new spring training home; an overhauling of the entire system, rebuilding the minor league teams and putting the worst team on the field in more than a quarter century as we prepare for the 2016 season.
That last statement and time frame makes the front office moves announced Thursday even more intriguing.
The Braves announced that John Schuerholz has been promoted to vice chairman of the organization. Mike Plant will be the team's president of development and Derek Schiller will be the president of business. (We're not sure if that's the same thing as President Business in the Lego Movie, but we know that everything on the field is far from awesome when you are a part of this Braves team. Over/under wins is 66.5, and according to betting site FiveDimes, if you bet $100 on the Braves to win the World Series, you'd win $25,000. That's the third longest odds in baseball behind the Colorado Rockies - bet $100 win $28,000 - and Philadelphia - bet $100 win $35,000.)
Still, it's the transition forced by time. It also is worth remembering that Scherholz has been in baseball for 50-plus years. He arrived in Atlanta in 1990 and with the help of Bobby Cox, a Hall of Fame rotation and some big acquisitions, reversed a franchise that was among the game's best and made it into one of the best in all of sports for two decades.
In fact, if there's a Rushmore of off-the-field sports figures in Atlanta sports history, it would be hard to argue Ted Turner, Bobby Dodd, Bobby Cox and John Schuerholz.
(Who'd we leave out?)
FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2015 file photo, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones points to the scoreboard during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game against Missouri in Columbia, Mo. Tennessee head coaches will hold a rare joint press conference Tuesday morning, Feb. 23, 2016, two weeks after a group of unidentified women sued the school over its handling of sexual assault complaints made against student-athletes. Athletic department spokesman Ryan Robinson said Monday night the coaches decided they wanted to make themselves available to answer questions on a variety of issues. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson, File) Phone records
Well, the AP has reported that Butch Jones had a busy day the Sunday after the alleged rape by Michael Williams and A.J. Johnson.
Phone records show that Jones talked to the Knoxville police four times, the players multiple times, his boss - AD Dave Hart - a couple of times and members of the Bowles family three times.
Yes, the last item on that list may be the most intriguing.
All the others seem to be what you'd expect from a football coach dealing with a matter this serious. Cops, players, AD, yes, it makes sense. But, for Jones, the smoking gun of this entire incident is if he did or did not tell former UT player Drae Bowles a traitor for helping the alleged victim.
Bowles has given separate versions of his role in story, but in the Title IX suit filed against the UT athletic department, Bowles gives his testimony that he helped the victim, called Jones and talked to him twice on the phone on Sunday when Jones told him he betrayed the team and then called back to apologize.
Bowles also was allegedly beaten by teammates and later threatened before transferring to UTC.
Well, the phone records show that Jones and Bowles did in fact speak twice on the Sunday after the alleged acts. (Jones also talked to Bowles' father that day.)
This is far from proof hard proof, but it is another round of information, and those minor details show that Jones and Drae Bowles talked twice on that Sunday.
Thoughts?
Jordan Spieth tees off on the 10th hole during the first round of the Valspar Championship golf tournament Thursday, March 10, 2016, in Palm Harbor, Fla. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco) This and that
- There was a Wheel of Fortune savant on last night. Dude solved every puzzle - including one that had all of one letter revealed - and collected more than $78,000 in cash and prizes. That's a Warren Buffett-esque 30 minutes.
- Loved this story that Jordan Spieth is more nervous about the menu and the details of the Masters champions dinner than the actual Masters. Spieth of course will serve Texas barbecue. Good stuff.
- Rough spell for Marco Rubio, literally.
- D'Angelo Russell met with the media and talked about his mistake. In truth, this as much as anything s a testament to how slow a sports news time this is and the need to feed the 24/7 sports news cycle beast. If this had happened in November, how much national discourse would it have received.
- At UT's pro day, one, it was intriguing to see Jacob Huesman make the drive up to K-town to get in front of more pro scouts, and two, Biran Randolph made some money Wednesday with a 4.40 40 time and 31 reps on the 225-pound bench press.
Today's questions
Happy National potato day.
Rushmore of potato products? Go.