5-at-10: NCAA foolishness, Another transfer question, LeBron and the new Cavs, Rushmore of best QBs without a Super Bowl title

FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2017, file photo, Notre Dame running back Josh Adams (33) heads for the end zone for his second touchdown of the game during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Miami (Ohio) in South Bend, Ind.
FILE - In this Sept. 30, 2017, file photo, Notre Dame running back Josh Adams (33) heads for the end zone for his second touchdown of the game during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Miami (Ohio) in South Bend, Ind.

NCAA issue

TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer delivered an excellent column this morning on the NCAA denying Notre Dame's appeal of the sanctions handed down in their academic situation. He, like so many among us, draws the parallels to North Carolina, which is going to be the starting point for comparisons for a long time coming.

Notre Dame's issues involved athletes and academics. UNC exploited a basic NCAA tenet - hey when you spend almost $20 million on your legal fees, you are going to get some crazy good representation - that its athletes were taking the same faux classes that lots of other students, ergo there were no NCAA violations because the athletes were not getting extra benefits.

Crafty.

Notre Dame - not unlike Ole Miss football - cooperated with the investigation and self-imposed some penalties. The NCAA came over the top from the top ring rope with a Hulkster leg drop on top of those details.

The lasting lesson, as Weeds noted and as the leadership at Notre Dame wrote to alumni and fans is clear. Notre Dame president Father John Jenkins wrote: "At best, the NCAA's decision in this case creates a randomness of outcome based solely on how an institution chooses to define its honor code; at worst, it creates an incentive for colleges and universities to change their honor codes to avoid sanctions."

It also promotes, heck even rewards, teams for not cooperating at all with the NCAA.

And moving forward, as the NCAA deals with the FBI scandals amid college basketball (in several places, including Auburn) and who knows what at Michigan State, the message of "cooperating equals hammer; fighting tooth-and-nail equals leniency" will not be lost on those schools in the NCAA crosshairs.

Heck, that lesson is already known at Auburn, where Bruce Pearl's legal team has advised him not to speak about the FBI case with his bosses.

And maybe worst of all is this simple question: Is anyone surprised?

Which leads us to this one: With the haphazard decision making and injustice of the NCAA's brand of justice, which will happen first, the system will get fixed or big-time college sports will breakaway from the NCAA?

Discuss.

photo Tennessee assistant coach Robert Gillespie directs from the sidelines. The University of Massachusetts Minutemen visited the University of Tennessee Volunteers in NCAA football action in Knoxville on September 23, 2017.


Coach moves

By now, you've heard that Robert Gillespie, the former UT running backs coach, has left the program. Here's Dancin' David Cobb, TFP UT ace, on the topic.


We're kind of curious about the ethics/timing of this? And this is not bashing UT or new coach Jeremy Pruitt. And let me say this as every Johnny Vols Fans tosses out the universal NCAA catch-all of "Every school does it." (Side note: That ranks second just behind the world-renowned "Because I said so" parental maxim as the most used catch-all.)

And it's true; everyone does do it. Yes, the job of the coaches is to do whatever it takes to get the best players he can. Yes, the fans are demanding. Yes, there are livelihoods and futures at stake. Yes, we believe a lot of these decisions are made and known and kept secret leading up to signing day to keep as many recruits in the fold.

And all of that can be rationalized and discussed and understood. And we're not denying the presence of those issues or singling out Tennessee or Pruitt. Tennessee

And all of it is why the teenagers being hoodwinked and lied to - remember, everyone does it - need more power in the transfer process and decision-making scenarios, especially after the fact.

Think of it this way: If Robert Gillespie was your lead recruiter, a person who have potentially talked to for the last three years as you are making the most important decision to that point of your young life, and BOOM, six days after signing day he's gone, what would your reaction be?

Yes, we know the hocus-pocus claims of picking a school for the school, but who does that, across any platform of college life.

If you are a basketball player, you look at the program. Same with any athlete.

If you want to be a pilot, and University X has the best flying professor in the country, then you may be attracted to that. Well, if that teacher leaves, that changes your decision right?

Hard to know if anyone will offer details about the actual timing of the Gillespie decision, whether it was known before signing day and everyone kept mum to maximize the class. (Side question: Do you think it is possible that Gillespie tipped his cards to a couple of the South Georgia athletes, one of whom was a running back, min you, who pulled the plug on UT commitments and picked FSU last Wednesday on National Signing Day? Discuss.)

This is an important layer in the transfer overhaul that is in front of college sports.

Coaches and fans of the power programs that are operating within the rules if not potentially being ethical with future staff knowledge have bemoaned the more open transfer rules. Using phrases like "Wild West" and "Free Agency" and several others.

Well, here's another one: "Fairness for the players."

(Here's an update from TFP college sports ace David Paschall. From DP's story, "The NCAA working group, according to its website, is "not considering - and never entertained - a model that would allow all student-athletes to transfer and compete immediately." Member schools noted that such a change would not lead to more athletes achieving academic success and graduating." Yeah, the NCAA and the power programs are really worried athletes achieving academic success and graduating. Riiiiiggghhtttttttt.)

As for meaningful change and progress, since the NCAA is involved, we're not exactly holding our breath for a just, timely and insightful decision.

photo Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James, left, celebrates after making the game-winning basket in overtime in an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Cleveland. The Cavaliers won 140-138 in overtime. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)


Cleveland overhaul continues to impress

The Cavs looked great in a 120-112 win over Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. Great.

It's worth noting that it was not that long ago that the Thunder dropped 148 on the Cavs in Cleveland.

But that was before the trade deadline reshuffle that moved more than 60 percent of the Cavs minutes played out of town and brought in George Hill, Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson and Rodney Hood.

(Side note: This is an excellent review from ESPN NBA ace Adrian Wojnarowski of the day that completely redirected the Cavs' season from potential second-round ouster to again being the favorite in the East.)

The big question that we'll continue to explore is what has made the difference.

There are physical factors. The players new Cavs have made the team much younger, more athletic and better defensively. That much is clear and the last part was certainly much needed.

There also are some intangible factors. As the rest of the NBA limps into the latest All-Star break in league history with a very blah-tastic spirit, the Cavs are playing harder and with a renewed emotional zest because of the injection of the new blood. Will that last? Hard to know.

There also are the LeBron factors. According to analytics, James is now more involved. (His Usage Rate of 39.1 in the three games since the trade; 30.9 before the trade. That's the percentage of of the outcome of total plays per game LeBron was involved in. For context the all-time record for single-season Usage Rate was 41.65 by Russell Westbrook last year when he averaged a triple double.)

There's also the fair esoteric question of exactly how hard was LeBron playing before the trade, especially in January, as folks wondered if James was trying to maximize the Cavs' woes to make sure a deal was made to get him some help. And the Cavs did - in a big way - without dealing the Nets' No. 1 pick which will be a lottery selection next summer.

Is there one answer? Probably not.

But the outcome is clear, even after three games. The Cavs are again the favorite to win the East.

This and that

- Very nice win over South Carolina for UT hoops, which rebounded from Saturday's debacle in Tuscaloosa. Side question: Grant Williams has to be the front-runner for SEC player of the year, right? Auburn's backcourt balance from Harper, Brown and Herron will kind of cancel detract from each candidate. That leaves Williams, who had 22 points on 10 shots last night. The 6-foot-7 sophomore from Charlotte is averaging 16.2 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting better than 48 percent from the floor. In SEC games, Williams is averaging better than 18 points per game.

- This is really cool. A son surprises his father with Masters badges and the old man is truly moved. Good times. Happy Valentine's Day everyone.

- Tiger Woods is trying for back-to-back top-25 finishes this weekend. Want to hear something crazy: If he does get into the top 25, it would be the first time he managed consecutive strong finishes since September 2013. Let that sink in. (Side question: Who else is really stoked about Augusta? Yes, me too.)

- Some new details in the lawsuit between memorabilia collectors and Eli Manning and the New York Giants here. An interesting wrinkle here: The Giants are representing themselves and not Manning or the equipment director. Hmmmmmm.

- The Flying Tomato, Shaun White, won gold Tuesday in the made-for-America Halfpipe thing in the Winter Olympics. It was a day of highs and lows for White, who landed his third Gold medal in the event to become the first American male to win gold in three Winter Olympics. He also had to answer questions about a 2016 sexual harassment lawsuit that was settled out of court and took a fair amount of heat on social media for letting the American Flag drag on the ground after winning. So there's that.

- The faux and overblown backlash continues to land on Steve Kerr after he let his players run timeouts and huddles in Monday night's blowout win over Phoenix. Here's more, including an excellent quote from Cavs coach Tyronn Lue. When asked if he would try something like what Kerr did Lue told the AP: ""I wouldn't do that. They already said LeBron's coaching the team, anyway. If I give him the clipboard, they're really going to say it."

Today's question

Happy Valentine's Day everyone. The most-overrated, contrived day - made in a lab by Hallmark, florists reps and a slew of fern bar restaurant reps - of the year, in our view.

So it goes.

The Westminster Dog Show was last night, and a little yapping ball of cotton beat a pug named Biggie. Quick Rushmore of most famous dogs: Scooby, Lassie, Old Yeller and Goofy. Thoughts?

Couple of interesting patents filed for on this day. Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray each applied for a patent for the telephone. The Supreme Court eventually and obviously granted the patent to Bell.

Texas Instruments on this day in 1978 patented a little thing called the microchip.

Happy birthday to Frederick Douglas today. He would have been 200.

Jimmy Hoffa would have been 105 today. Florence Henderson would have been 84 today.

Jim Kelly is 58 today and Drew Bledsoe is 46 today. Steve McNair would have been 45 today. So let's go with the best NFL quarterbacks all-time without a Super Bowl title.

Go, and remember the mailbag.

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