Saban’s spot on
It has to be pretty cool to be above the common concerns of quotes and comments right? To be someone wealthy enough or powerful enough – or both – and yes, talented enough, that you have the complete freedom to do as you wish.
In a lot of ways, I put Nick Saban at the top of that freedom list.
Because I believe he is so good at what he does and so valuable to so many Alabama supporters that he could shoot a man in cold blood on the streets of Auburn, Ala., and a Harvey Updyke would take the life sentence for him.
So, while this is nowhere to that extreme or felonious, Saban has always had a ‘devil-may-care’ attitude about the fallout of his comments.
Granted, Saban is relatively reserved on topics he does not see an angle or advantage to commenting on. Stuff like politics for instance.
But when it matters to Saban, he’s not afraid to flood the tubes and fire all the torpedos.
Here’s his latest, weighing in on NIL with both cleats.
From the interview with The AP: “The concept of name, image and likeness was for players to be able to use their name, image and likeness to create opportunities for themselves. That’s what it was. So last year on our team, our guys probably made as much or more than anybody in the country. But that creates a situation where you can basically buy players. You can do it in recruiting. I mean, if that’s what we want college football to be, I don’t know. And you can also get players to get in the transfer portal to see if they can get more someplace else than they can get at your place.”
Bingo.
The sport a lot of us truly love is at a crossroads and it appears the powers that be have zero intention to control, regulate, or manage the biggest change to college sports since Title IX.
Because I think we all want the players to share in the profits and the money – especially when it comes to advertising and jersey sales – but the $30 million recruiting funds in College Station (allegedly) and $8 million QB recruits (reportedly) will complete distort the landscape of the game.
Saban sees it. We all do. He just has the platform from which people can listen.
Now we must figure out the change that comes with that change.
Perfect not enough
So Clayton Kershaw was perfect through seven innings Wednesday afternoon. Not good. Not great.
Perfect.
And he was pulled. After 80 pitches.
Try to imagine pitchers of old – from Gibson to Ryan to Seaver to Smoltz – being on the mound after seven perfect innings and the manager pulling those dudes. After 80 pitches.
Yeah, me neither.
But today is different. Sadly. And in a lot of ways, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Limited pitch counts to protect arms means arms are not comfortable going north of limited numbers of pitches.
Yes, Kershaw is in his mid-30s. Yes, it was not that long ago that the Mets let another aging lefty – Johan Santana – chase a no-no and it wound up being a career bender for Santana.
But man, perfection after just 80 pitches and poof.
Some are blaming the lockout, and yes, limited spring training reps means extra precautions, especially for aging players like Kershaw.
But the game has changed in so many ways over the last quarter century. So are excellent.
Some – like this extreme arm babying – are the opposite of excellent.
Birds of a feather
So, I’m not much of a hockey follower. That’s a given.
But this story is pretty cool.
Last night some player for the Wild named Ryan Hartman got into a fight with Evander Kane. Fights happen in hockey. So it goes.
(Side question: The different views on physical altercations in various sports is an intriguing conversation no? Discuss.)
Well after the refs split up Hartman and Kane, Hartman was caught on camera giving Kane the ol’ one-finger salute.
That’s an instant fine from the NHL in the low-$4,000 range. Well one fan found Hartman’s Venmo account and put $10 in because Kane is arguably the worst dude and most-hated guy in sports.
Seriously, Kane has domestic allegations, gambling allegations, faked a COVID vaccination card and other line items in his past.
Called the ‘middle-finger fund’ it took off on Venmo and covered the $4,250 fine in hours. Heck, even Kane’s ex-wife ponied up $200.
Hartman makes more $1.7 million to skate with a stick, so he can cover the birdie bill and said the Venmo money will go to a charity. Good times.
This and that
– We frequently discuss how close Vegas is on its lines and projections. Well last night may have been an all-time historic see-saw in terms of the totals. The over-under on the Hawks-Hornets was 235.5, and with the game well in hand, the Hawks were content to let the final seconds fade away. The young and irritated Hornets were not, and tried to get a steal and a late transition bucket before the Hawks were called for a shot-clock violation. On the Hornets’ final possession, LaMelo Ball tries to score in the lane but is rejected by a Hawks reserve at the buzzer. The final score 132-103 so the under hits by 0.5. In the night cap with a total of 215.5, Pelicans try to dribble out the clock but a walk is called. Spurs splash a 3 to cut the lead to 8 before fouling. The Pelicans hit both free throws to win 113-103. Wow.
– Speaking about the NBA, Hornets star Miles Bridges got tossed in the frustrating loss. On his way out, he threw his mouthpiece into the stands and hit a teenage girl. Not a good look,
– Braves played. Braves lost. And this is far from panic mode – we’re a week into the season, and as Annie Savoy rightly said, it’s a long season and you gotta trust it – but Max Fried has to be a bona fide 1 for these Braves to be there in the end. So there’s that.
– You know the rules. Here’s Paschall on UT football.
– So Pat Sajak asked Vanna White if she has ever watched opera naked. OK. The Twitter-verse melted down. To be fair it was an attempt at word play more than anything else. He asked Vanna if she was an opera buff – after the Wheel winner was an opera singer – and Vanna said she was a fan but not a buff. Pat then asked, “Have you ever watched opera in the buff?” So there’s that. Folks are asking Pat to step down and even wondering if it’s a #MeToo moment. Alas.
– Side question: Could we make “Airplane!” – “Ever seen a grown man naked?” – in this culture? Discuss.
Today’s questions
Gang, I hear you. I’m with you. I am missing the interaction of the comments too.So it goes. Feel free to email your comments and questions to me at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. If I don’t get to them directly – they are piling up pretty quickly – I will eventually. And some will make tomorrow’s bag.
Alas. Thanks for reading and for your patience. I wish I had an answer because I have no idea what could possibly be taking this long either.
Free for all Thursday. Fire away, and we’ll include the best questions tomorrow in the bag. So there’s that.
As for today, April 14, let’s review.
Abe Lincoln was shot on this day in 1865, which after many years, hatched a great irrelevant quote in the classic, “Well other than that, how did you enjoy the play Mrs. Lincoln?”
The Titanic hit the iceberg on this day in 1912.
In 1935, Black Sunday from the severe dust storms ravaged the midwest parts of the U.S.Wow, keep your head on a swivel out there today folks.
Pete Rose is 81 today. So there’s that too.
Rushmore of most famous middle finger salutes. Go, and have a great day.