CollegeCharlie Sports

Screw the NBA

2011-12-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

Since the richest athletes in team sports couldn't be bothered with worrying about anyone but themselves all summer and fall, why does anyone have to put up with their foolish idea of beginning the NBA season on Christmas day? Me, I'd declare they could not start the seasoned they have shortened until after the college football championship game in January. In fact if I were king of USA sports, I would not allow NBA, NFL, NHL, or NCAA to stage any contests on Christmas Eve or Day. After all Santa Claus has more innate intelligence than anybody associated with the NBA anyway. Most of us don't care for the gold chains, tattoos, or arrogance that is in abundance in the NBA.

NBA should stand for No Basketball at All on Christmas.

Bill Cosby: I'm 76 and I'm Tired

2011-12-07T17:13:00.000-05:00

I'm 76. Except for brief period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since I was 17. Except for some some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks, and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very tired.

I'm tired of being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers"; of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia , New Zealand , UK, America and Canada , while no one from these countries are allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to teach love and tolerance..

I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.

I'm tired of being told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them, and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm while they tried to fight it off?

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.

I'm really tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.

I'm also tired and fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and early 20's be-deck them selves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making themselves un-employable and claiming money from the Government.

Yes, I'm damn tired. But I'm also glad to be 76.. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter and her children. Thank God I'm on the way out and not on the way in.

A Nation in Ruin

2011-11-24T12:24:00.000-05:00

Is it just me? Or is a once strong and proud America becoming as the last days of the Roman or the Babylonian Empires? Historians tell us that their fall came from within. Corruption, sexual immorality, greed, lack of government and personal discipline brought both great civilizations to their knees.

Over the past few years American leaders have become more dysfunctional. The American Congress, big business, sports, schools, you name it. We are becoming a leaderless, corrupt, vile, immoral nation. A nation that once looked to its God for leadership, guidance and approval. God was happy and He blessed this country. We once prayed at home, in school, and at public events for His guidance. Now such prayer is forbidden in public places because a few very sick individuals were offended and we have allowed them to blackmail a whole nation.

Oh my, please don't offend anyone. God will just have to understand that we don't need Him anymore since we have become an all-knowing people. We have eaten the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and now we don't need a God.

Now we are eating one another, especially our defenseless children. We have become so perverted that nothing is sacred. The angels of Satan are just about in control. Yes there is a Satan. Jerry Sanduskys and all like him are Satan's angels.

Our children are a gift from God no matter what the liberal sickos will say. We are to love them, nurture them, teach them, protect them, and pray for them. But what do we do? We expose them to all manner of filth. We use them for our own pleasure and profit. We kill them. They are our future as a nation. Will they continue to advance our downfall? Yes they will because they will know no better.

I once had an elderly friend who matter-of-factly said to me that public hangings once did a lot to deter crime. For a child molester or a wife beater, bring it on! Hang the som bitches and show it on national television. The angels of Satan are winning - because they have so much help in America.

Emergency, USA

2011-08-23T13:52:00.000-04:00

Hopefully you have already seen this and sent it to your friends. If not, please read and react.

Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.

I'm asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.

2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5.. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12.

The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S. ) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!

Betting man?

2011-08-20T11:43:00.000-04:00

We have spent the summer researching 100's of sports betting and "how-to bet" sites. We think we have found a mixture of safe sites that you can comfortably visit. The football season can become a little more interesting by playing the odds and winning. It's all about winning when my cash is at risk, right. It is certainly more exciting. Take a look at the possibilities. Charlie Sports Betting

SEC Media Days

2011-07-21T12:02:00.000-04:00

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said recent headlines across the country have laid bare the darker side of major college sports so much that they have "lost the benefit of the doubt." Read more:

Slive manages a conference that most agree is the strongest in the country. Most of the nation's highest paid coaches do battle here. The SEC teams play in the largest, most glamorous stadiums in the country. The SEC champion has been the National Champion for the past five years. I guess one could say the league "knows football". It has the largest TV football contract (see below) of any conference. Money is rolling in from everywhere. But the SEC schools can't stay totally within NCAA rules. Currently LSU was just slapped with a one-year probation for recruiting violations. Tennessee and Auburn are awaiting verdicts from the NCAA for the same reasons.

It seems that the only private university in the conference, Vanderbilt, is also the only squeaky clean school as per the NCAA. Vanderbilt also has the poorest won-lost record ever. Wonder why? Well, Vandy admits real students. Those students take real courses and they all graduate, unlike the situation at other schools. Isn't this the way it should at all colleges?

Some coaches disagree with Slive's suggestion that the score on the required sixteen high school core courses be raised from 2.0 to 2.5. Come on, man. Who needs to be able to read as long as he can catch a pass or sack a quarterback. Those academically challenged kids put fans in the stadiums and a check mark on the left of the won/loss column.

The bottom line is that college was never meant to be for everyone. The opportunity to attend should be there for everyone who works and maintains a high school average that warrants college admission. Athletes should meet the same admissions standards as every other applicant.

College should be for learning and preparation for life and a career. A college's name and its facilities (Sports Palaces) should not be used to promote or perpetuate professional sports teams. The only difference between SEC football and the NFL is that SEC players aren't paid obscene salaries. The obscene salaries in the SEC are paid to the coaches.

Does anyone recall an Ivy league school being sanctioned by the NCAA? How many FCS schools have been put on NCAA probation? Big money brings big pressures and big temptations.

And, Folks, money is what it is all about.

Things that piss me off

2011-07-13T11:03:00.001-04:00

1. The NFL lockout. On one side there are multimillionaire owners who seek more millions. I guess that is a reasonable goal for a successful business person.
On the other sideline are the players who want more of everything. “Hey look at me and my gold chains” attitudes. Guys, some of who do not even have a college degree, making salaries of $20+ millions. There are presently 25 players making over $12 million. The average salary of a roster player ranges from $1,177,280 if you are a SF 49er to $560,000 as a Kansas City Chief. Hey most of us could live pretty well on half-a-mil.

It is true that the average career as an NFL player is not one that extends to normal retirement age of the rest of the working society. So get it while you can is a reasonable attitude. Let’s assume you are quarterback Philip Rivers of San Diego. Rivers’ annual salary in 2009-10 was $25,556,630. If his career lasts another five years, that’s $127,783,150. How can a man spend $127,000,000?

The owners have and are taking business risks as any business owner does. They make it possible for the players to command the kind of obscene salaries they are paid. Without the owners, the players have no stage on which to perform. Yet the owners are crazy as bedbugs. St. Louis made a deal with first round draft pick Sam Bradford paying him $78 million over six years, with $50 million guaranteed. If his career ends because of an injury in year 2 of his contract, he still gets $50 million. It sounds like a dumb deal to me.

Of course both sides are bickering over some $9 BILLION in cash that is on the table. People murder for that kind of money. Divide the money equally among the 32 NFL cities for the purpose of improving education in those cities. Heaven knows American education could stand some improving.

Salary data from http://content.usatoday.com/sportsdata/football/nfl/salaries/player/top-25

2. Politicians in general. The founding fathers never intended for members of Congress to be or become professional politicians. Their idea was of citizen senators and representatives. They never envisioned “pork barreling” as a tool of negotiation. They never dreamed of a Supreme Court that attempts to take God out of everything. We know this is true, because they had the early builders put In God We Trust on all our currency, and all public buildings in Washington, including the Supreme Court Building. Yeah I know, they also never dreamed of cars, planes or rockets either. Yet they were bargained that if this country stayed faithful to God, God would truly bless us. Right now, if you were God would you remain faithful to America? A country that has made it unlawful to display His Ten Commandments in/on public buildings. A country that has sunken to the depths of such indecent language in public,in print and in movies and television. A country that constantly tells our young people that having sex is ok if it makes you feel good.

3. Political Correctness. I in no way advocate embarrassing or demeaning another person by verbal cruelty. But I do believe that a “Rose is a Rose by any other name” (William Shakespeare, I think). One cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. One does not make a school better by simply calling it an Academy. One does not make homosexuality more acceptable by calling it a Gay lifestyle. America is obsessed with sex and all perverted forms of it. So were the last Romans.

"Political correctness is the natural continuum from the party line. What we are seeing once again is a self-appointed group of vigilantes imposing their views on others. It is a heritage of communism, but they don't seem to see this." - Doris Lessing, 2007 Nobel Prize for literature.

July 4: Why Blondie Loves America

2011-07-04T10:32:00.000-04:00

This article was published by my friend Bob Lee of bobleesays.com fame.

"Blondie wrote this piece back in 2007 for our pal Toronto talk show host Jerry Agar. It has held up well in the ensuing years. I’d like to say I helped her craft these powerful words but I didn’t. I was probably writing some dumb sports column while she was actually “saving Western Civilization”. Bless her heart!" - BobLee
Click for full article. It will make your day.

Thanks, BobLee

Back when I was a boy, part 3

2011-06-20T10:44:00.000-04:00

Public school back when I was a boy was totally different than today’s embarrassment. In the early grades, we learned the basics of the Three R’s – reading, riting and rethmatic. We also were subject to paddling if we acted up. My third grade teacher was good at palm paddling. Proper palm padding technique was as follows: 1. Palm up, 2. Grab the fingers and arch the palm upward, 3. Smack that palm several times with a wood ruler. Such always got my attention. It altered my unacceptable behavior and certainly did not warp my id. My parents were ok with Mrs. Cooper’s behavior towards my sometimes bad attitude. Instead of threatening to sue the school board and have dear Mrs. Cooper fired, they asked her to do whatever she deemed necessary to keep my attention. Whatever I got at school, I got more at home that night.

Schools back then were neighborhood schools. They served a certain area of the city. One could easily walk to and from school. In the metropolitan cities, there were no school buses because there was no forced desegregation. One attended his or her neighborhood school. From first grade through high school, I never had a Black schoolmate. The South was segregated which meant “separate but equal”. Separate they were, equal they were not.

I was never a star student. I would say I was average. I loved lunch, recess and math. I learned some things out of fear. I feared my teacher. I feared my Dad and my Mom taught me that I had better fear God and that God definitely did not like slackers. That was fine. Learning by fear is better than not at all, right?

In junior high school, I became aware of girls. I was shy and the prettier they were, the more intimidated I was. I always thought girls, especially the pretty ones, were perfect. They would never use four-letter words and certainly never give anyone the ‘bird”. Well I learned I was wrong on both counts.

One started to attend parties in junior high school. The one's where for the first hour the girls were on one side of the room and us guys on the other side. There was always one particular one who got my eye. I wanted to dance with her. I desperately wanted to hold her hand. But the coward I was came through and I acted as though I was not at all interested in girls.

I had a friend, Thomas, who was just the opposite. He was aggressive with the ladies. He even kissed at least one of them before the night was over. He was not at all shy or intimidated by girls and they seemed to be more interested in him than certainly me. The seventh grade was definitely frustrating when it came to girls.

I loved sports and the seventh grade was my introduction to real football. In the earlier years, we played sandlot football in a field behind our house. No protective gear but tackle football. Lots of cuts and bruises in those days. Thes were scares that made is proud though.

My mother almost messed me up though. When I was in the fifth grade, she decided I needed some culture. Music lessons were in my future. She let me choose what instrument I would play. I chose the trumpet because it looked far more macho to me than the piano or violin. I took lessons all one summer. It was not as bad as I thought it would be. After six weeks my instructor informed me that he had several other students and he had planned a recital for all of us in two weeks. I was to pick a tune I thought I could easily play in front of all the parents. How could I get sick in two weeks. The week before the recital I asked one of my friends to sock me in the mouth hard enough to put my lips out of commition for at least a week. He refused because my mom had invited him to attend the recital. He was my only friend who even knew I was taking lessons and he would be there to giggle at my attempt to get through my part.

Back when I was a boy, part 2

2011-06-14T11:49:00.002-04:00

According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's or even the early 80's, probably shouldn't have survived.
Our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets. (Not to mention the risks we
took hitchhiking.)

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose. Horrors! We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always outside playing.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died.

We would spend hours building go-carts out of wood scraps fruit crates and then rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us by cell phone. Unthinkable! We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all,no 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cell phones,personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We had neighborhood friends! We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt. We played other games such as Kick the Can and Capture the Flag. We fell out of trees, got cut, and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was to blame but us.

We had fights and punched each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it. We were still friends. We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate worms, and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes, nor did the worms live inside us forever.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's home and knocked on the door, or rang the bell or just walked in. Few worried about locking the doors.

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with it. And there were no trophies for everybody at the end of the season. We played because we wanted to be with our friends and it was fun. There were no 8-,12-,or 15 year old all-star teams. If parents attended games, they behaved.

Some of us weren't as smart as others, so we failed a grade and were held back. Horrors! Tests were not adjusted for any reason. There was no such thing as a retest. Our actions were our own. Failure was a possibility, no one to hide behind. If I got paddled at school - yep, paddling was used and the experience did not warp anyone's ID. And I got another one when I got home. You see, like parents, teachers were always right!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and innovators, ever. We even put men on the moon.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. If you're one of us, Congratulations!

Back when I was a boy

2011-04-23T11:13:00.001-04:00

I was born in February of 1942. The Second World War was raging in Europe, Asia, Africa, Japan and practically every nation on the planet. Except for the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, mainland America was untouched by this horrific conflict. But American sons and daughters served, fought and died in lands they never expected to see in their lifetimes. It is estimated that over 60 million people died in the conflict of 1939-1945. All of these lost lives due to the madness of Adolf Hitler.

Since I was an infant during these years, I have no remembrance of the conflict, V-E Day or V-J Day. My father served in the US Navy on a supply ship in the Pacific during the last two years of the war. I vaguely remember my mom and I living in a three room apartment in what is now East Nashville, Tennessee.

My youth was spent growing up in a segregated South. I never attended school with black children. In the 40's, 50's and early 1960"s, black folks were referred to as Colored or Negroes. Many ignorant Whites did use the term nigger. This was the way it was and I knew no better. Regretfully I didn't think much about it, I just accepted it.

During the summer of 2011, I plan to share with any interested readers, my experiences back when I was a boy. The downside of a blog is that chronology the "first" is always the "last". Please join me in recalling those days. Before then you could read Tom Brokaw's THE GREATEST GENERATION.

It's all about ME 2!

2011-03-29T07:00:00.000-04:00

After losing his starting position, former University of North Carolina guard Larry Drew II asked to transfer from the school. What can we learn as athletic administrators from his great show of teamwork and fortitude?

Drew left school after his parents allegedly pressed for the coaching staff to move their son back to a starting position after spending four games coming off the bench. They then approved their son's departure from the team when he wasn't reinstated as the team's starting point guard.

While this is a college-level incident, this type of thing has occurred for years at the high school level. Over-zealous, unrealistic parents place demands upon a coach or athletic administrator and create a ruckus when they don't get their way.

It is purported that athletics is a great vehicle to develop life-long values. One has to wonder what can we take away from this example?

Here are some critical points for athletic administrators to consider in times like these:

1. Parents may not be the most realistic judge of their child's athletic ability. Love usually overrides logic and reason.

2. All rules, policies and procedures are great until they directly affect a parent's child.

3. While athletics does not develop character, it is revealed in participation and competition.

Athletics is, after all, a privilege and not a right. Being part of a team and how much one plays should be based upon what is done in practice and what is best in terms of the team--not individuals. Demands from unrealistic parents cannot be allowed to influence this critical part of education.

Dr. David Hoch, CMAA

It's all about ME!

2011-03-24T11:22:00.002-04:00

Please watch this video

Yes, sadly in todays sports environment, it is all about 'me'. In school sports parents always want to talk about playing time. They could care less about the success of the team, or the morale of the team. They are only interested in their little Johnny. He (she) may not have the skills or experience of other players, but that doesn't count with their little Johnny (Jane). Such parents and weak administrators have run good, caring coaches out of the profession.

Such attitudes are not just found in middle- or high schools. The colleges have their share of prima donas. Bobby was a high school stud. He was offered scholarships by several schools. Yet if he doesn't get significant playing time as a freshman, he complains and wants to transfer.

Or worse, look at the pros, particularly the NFL. A defensive lineman sacks the opposing quarterback, then jumps up and pounds his chest. Look at me, look at me. Well he practices sacking quarterbacks every day in practice. He gets paid to sack quarterbacks. Sacking quarterbacks is his job. Why celebrate or call attention to oneself for doing what is expected of you? Oh well. Nobody asked me.
Please see Look at me

Money, Money, Money. But not for education

2011-03-23T13:08:00.002-04:00

It's the basketball time of year referred to as March Madness. Millions, maybe even billions of dollars will change hands for game tickets, colas, popcorn and hotdogs, and parking by fans. Television will rake in millions in advertising.

Two years ago CBS promised the NCAA $6 billion for the rights to televise tournament games for 10 years. Pretty good wad of money there. Where does it all go? Obviously the participating basketball teams will get some of it, depending how far in the brackets they advance. This will allow those schools to pay expenses for participating in the tournament. I suppose that most of the coaches have an incentive clause in their contracts, so they will get a portion. But one thing is for sure: The Biology professors at the university won't get a dime of this money.

March Madness is all about education, isn't it? Maybe every school in the tournament has a major in basketball or entertainment or tattooing or proper use of the F-word on the court or bench area.

Why do we need a national champion in any sport? Bragging rights? Is a national champion school a better school academically? Didn't I read in my newspaper that 23 of the 64 teams in this year's tournament failed the APR (academic performance rating) criteria. This caused the Knight Commission, which is an academic watchdog of big time college sports, to publicly call for having the acceptable APR numbers as a qualification for participating in the tournament. Where are the college presidents in supporting this proposal?

Folks, people in this country don't care about anything but winning. They don't care if their gladiators go to class, or commit a felony as long as MY University beats the crap out of yours. An APR? Who gives a s**t about that stuff. Besides these aren't really college teams, but NBA minor league franchises that are allowed to use college names and venues. This tournament has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with education.

Please visit College Sports by Charlie for the most irreverent news and commentary.

2011-02-14T11:27:00.002-05:00

Going to extreme measures for child athletes

Like many other American teens, 14-year-old Nick Heras wants to be a professional quarterback someday.

Unlike most teens, he has left home and moved across the country to attend an elite athletic training program. His family foots a hefty bill for Nick's dreams: More than $50,000 a year.

The Haves and Have-Nots ... the rich get richer and poor stay that way

The University of Texas' groundbreaking $300 million, 20-year television deal with ESPN has generated considerable praise for the financial windfall it could create for the university. However, it's also fueled plenty of discussion about competitive balance, and the even bigger gap between the haves and have nots in big-time college athletics.

National Signing Day 2011: Which Top Recruiting Classes Will Suffer the Most?

Andy Rooney and Prayer
Andy Rooney said it on 60 MINUTES

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin, but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game.

Back when I was a boy a Coke was 5 cents, gasoline was 30 cents and No meant No!

Read these and more at our website. http://www.collegecharlie.com/

The Haves and Have-Nots ... the rich get richer and the poor stay that way

2011-02-08T12:37:00.003-05:00

The University of Texas' groundbreaking $300 million, 20-year television deal with ESPN has generated considerable praise for the financial windfall it could create for the university. However, it's also fueled plenty of discussion about competitive balance, and the even bigger gap between the haves and have nots in big-time college athletics.

Recruiting advantage? What you say, NCAA? Fox Sports will now cut a deal with say, Alabama? This will cause another arms race among the college elite. And college is about education? Yeah, what fool believes that? Where does the NCAA fit into all this? Do they get a share of the $300 million? No, because the NCAA no longer controls college football. Television and conference commissioners do the talkin' for football at the FBS level.

It's all about the money and has nothing to do with education. And most people don't care. We now have colleges so that we can have football teams.

Television has also made national signing day a redneck circus.... and more profits for networks. But hey, it's about math, science and history, right? Or maybe producing doctors, educators, and missionaries instead of defensive tackles? Naw. Roll Tide, go 'Horns, gettem Ducks.

BetEd Sportsbook Review

2011-02-03T14:13:00.001-05:00

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Please watch this video.

2011-02-02T14:32:00.000-05:00

In over 40 years of coaching and being an athletics administrator, this video says it all about today's young athletes and their parents. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iymXdRQDISg&feature=player_embedded

Only in America ....

2011-01-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

..do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

...do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway,and put our useless junk in the garage.

The Christmas School Break

2011-01-14T16:15:00.001-05:00

Traditionally schools and colleges take a two + week break during the Christmas holiday season. This gives us all the opportunity to be with family even when that means travel.

In recent years, the "bowl season" has mushroomed to over 30 games, most of them dull and mediocre. Thank you television, mostly ESPN. By the time the BCS national championship game finally began, many of us could care less. Rah, two days before we had the opportunity to see Middle Tennessee State play Miami of Ohio. I'm sure that was a must-see for millions of fans. I was not one of them.

Playing in a bowl game with 6 losses during the regular season is mediocre and shameful. But a way to add four weeks to a school's spring practice routine. Who cares?

Charlie, aka Bill Cherry, spent 8 of those days in a local hospital finally having an ICD (pacemaker) implant. The old heart went crazy from all those exciting bowl games. Got up to 160/minute at rest. Medication did not correct this, so the ICD seemed to be the solution. So I now have this battery and instrument implanted just under the skin on the left side of my chest with tiny wires running all through my heart. If my heart gets crazy again, the ICD will shock it back to normal - I hope.

Just too much excitement from all those wanna be's. I sincerely hope ESPN lost money. If over half of the BCS membership plays in a bowl game, then what honor is in that? There once was a time when only the elite of each season were rewarded with a bowl bid. Now a team has to be really, really bad if they aren't in a bowl game.

It would be hard to take the present bowl system and turn it into a playoff system. Too much money and too much television investment in the present bowl season. Though the time (weeks) between the end of the regular season and the championship game could accommodate a 32-team playoff.

Andy Rooney and Prayer- CBS 60 Minutes

2010-12-03T12:14:00.000-05:00

Andy Rooney says:

I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I'm not going to sue somebody for singing a Ho-Ho-Ho song in December. I don't agree with Darwin , but I didn't go out and hire a lawyer when my high school teacher taught his Theory of Evolution.

Life, liberty or your pursuit of happiness will not be endangered because someone says a 30-second prayer before a football game. So what's the big deal? It's not like somebody is up there reading the entire Book of Acts. They're just talking to a God they believe in and asking him to grant safety to the players on the field and the fans going home from the game.

But it's a Christian prayer, some will argue.

Yes, and this is the United States of America and Canada , countries founded on Christian principles. According to our very own phone book, Christian churches outnumber all others better than 200-to-1. So what would you expect -- somebody chanting Hare Krishna?

If I went to a football game in Jerusalem , I would expect to hear a Jewish prayer.

If I went to a soccer game in Baghdad , I would expect to hear a Muslim prayer.

If I went to a ping pong match in China , I would expect to hear someone pray to Buddha.

And I wouldn't be offended. It wouldn't bother me one bit.

When in Rome ......

But what about the atheists? Is another argument.

What about them? Nobody is asking them to be baptized. We're not going to pass the collection plate. Just humour us for 30 seconds. If that's asking too much, bring a Walkman or a pair of ear plugs. Go to the bathroom. Visit the concession stand. Call your lawyer!

Unfortunately, one or two will make that call. One or two will tell thousands what they can and cannot do I don't think a short prayer at a football game is going to shake the world's foundations.

Christians are just sick and tired of turning the other cheek while our courts strip us of all our rights. Our parents and grandparents taught us to pray before eating, to pray before we go to sleep.Our Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Now a handful of people and their lawyers are telling us to cease praying.

God, help us. And if that last sentence offends you, well, just sue me.

The silent majority has been silent too long. It's time we tell that one or two who scream loud enough to be heard that the vast majority doesn't care what they want. It is time that the majority rules! It's time we tell them, "You don't have to pray; you don't have to say the Pledge of Allegiance; you don't have to believe in God or attend services that honour Him. That is your right, and we will honour your right; but by golly, you are no longer going to take our rights away. We are fighting back, and we WILL WIN!"

God bless us one and all...Especially those who denounce Him, God bless America and Canada , despite all our faults, We are still the greatest nation of all. God bless our service men who are fighting to protect our right to pray and worship God.

Let's make 2011 the year the silent majority is heard and we put God back as the foundation of our families and institutions. And our military forces come home from all the wars.

Keep looking up.

Nice job, Andy. Thanks to someone with some common sense and intelligence.

BCS - Big Cash Scheme

2010-11-30T16:50:00.001-05:00

As we settle-in to cheer on our favorite college football teams this bowl season, it's important to remember that an undisputed consolidation of power and money -- the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) -- controls which schools play in the major bowl games and National Championship game.
The BCS operates independently from, and without accountability to, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It is controlled by commissioners from the six major college football ''power conferences'' (also referred to as ''BCS conferences'') plus the Athletic Director of the independent Notre Dame. This arrangement is agreed to, reluctantly, by the commissioners of the remaining five ''mid-major'' conferences (also referred to as ''non-BCS conferences'' because they do not receive automatic bids to the BCS bowl games as do the others).

The BCS is responsible for concentrating the wealth that comes from the major post-season events (Fiesta, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls, and the National Championship game) among the schools in conferences with BCS influence, and leaving the other Division I-A, non-BCS schools at a competitive, financial and recruiting disadvantage. It's like telling nearly half of your members that they are not welcome at the club and are not eligible for the benefits that membership provides.

According to Brent Schrotenboer of the San Diego Union-Tribune: ''The six major conference commissioners have gained increasing power in the past 10 years and have turned it into television deals worth more than $110 million per year. They broker their power by representing their member school presidents and negotiating with bowls and television networks on their behalf. This year, they will distribute the vast portion of $210 million in bowl payouts to their members.''

The biggest area of controversy with the BCS system is unquestionably the disputed method for deciding a national champion. For starters, since the creation of the BCS in 1998, the convoluted mix of polls and computers to decide what schools should be appointed to play in the title game has succeeded only twice without controversy.

But no system could succeed that has to ''decide'' among schools with equal records and valid claims of inclusion when only two spots are available. And no system could succeed that leaves such a remote chance for a non-BCS school to compete for the championship, even with a perfect record.

Excluding deserving teams and student-athletes from the chance to compete also amounts to consumer fraud for the fans. Such matters should be resolved on the field like every other NCAA sport and every other football division, all of which have tournaments to determine a national champion.

The shrinking number of BCS defenders say the system preserves the tradition of the bowl games. But first, there's no reason why bowl games can not thrive either outside or within a tournament structure. Secondly, what tradition is left? Traditional match-ups are gone, as is the traditional New Years Day schedule, and the games have been commercialized to the point of destroying the bowl game experience and tradition for schools, student-athletes and fans.

Finally, bowl games are private businesses that should have no right, in partnership with the BCS, to prevent college football from a fair method of determining a national champion.

Those attempting to preserve the BCS, like the presidents of schools that make up the six BCS conferences and enjoy the BCS payouts, also say a playoff could mean less time for players to concentrate on classes and point to concerns that education would be sacrificed for money. But the BCS is influenced by persons and entities without respect to the interests of student-athletes or educational missions.

Where was the worry from presidents for student-athletes when they recently signed-off on an additional regular season game for every team, or when some conferences added a championship game, or when the presidents agree to allow more and more games every year on weekdays during the academic calendar, all to showcase their conferences and enjoy the television payouts? How do these developments give student-athletes more time for classes and exams?

Scale all these events back for the 124 Div. I-A schools, and add a national tournament for, say, the best 16-teams (including a few of the very best from traditionally overlooked conferences), and there would be far fewer games played overall. This would leave increased study time for all but the top 8-to-16 teams, depending on whether they currently play a conference championship. (Somehow this issue does not come up during the NCAA Basketball Tournament).

Whatever the changes or replacements to the failed BCS, the NCAA needs to take control of Div. I-A college football in the interest of all member institutions, their student-athletes, alumni and fans. There should never be so much power in the hands of so few without accountability as the BCS demonstrates each year.

You may have seen this. Hopefully it has gone to Millions

2010-11-16T09:43:00.000-05:00

WOULDN'T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN, GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?
'My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of the Iraqi regime has been completed.
Since Congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.
This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all American forces from Iraq . This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraqi conflict. This list is short . The United Kingdom , Spain , Bulgaria , Australia , and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains every one not on the first list. Most of the world's nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me start by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases indefinitely. The money saved during the first year alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war. THEN EVERY YEAR THEREAFTER, It'll GO TO OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SO IT WONT GO BROKE IN 20 YEARS.

The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hell holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.

Need help with a famine ? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France .

In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home. On that note, a word to terrorist organizations. Screw with us and we will hunt you down and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.

Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France or maybe China .

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France, and Russia . Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well.

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parking tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don't care about whatever treaty pertains to this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York.

Mexico is on List 2. It's president and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple thousand extra tanks and infantry divisions sitting around now. Guess where I am going to put 'em? Yep, border security.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty - starting now.

We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we'll be drilling for oil in Alaska -which will take care of this country's oil needs for decades to come. If you're an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, 'darn tootin.'

Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America . It is time to eliminate homelessness in America . To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won't forget.

To the nations on List 2, a final thought : You might want to learn to speak Arabic.

God bless America .. Thank you and good night.'

If you can read this in English, thank a soldier.

Sports Agents: Bloodsuckers or Do-gooders?

2010-10-16T11:12:00.000-04:00

NCAA, NFL and other officials working to slow the unscrupulous activities of "rogue" agents in football are close to handing down recommendations that would really make a difference, according to NCAA official, Rachel Newman Baker.

College football coaches are asking the NFL players association and state attorney generals to hit wayward agents with tougher penalties.

In recent months, NCAA investigations and player suspensions and dismissals have touched major college football programs. Top North Carolina player, Marvin Austin, was dismissed from the team for his dealings with an agent.

College players who deal with smooth-talking agents not only put their college careers in jeopardy, but also the good standing of the team and school they play for, and do the agents really care? Ultimately all they want is the student-athlete's name on their dotted line.

The athlete wants the money the agent can provide and the agent wants to negotiate said athlete's professional contract - for a sizable fee. Agents do provide a service to athletes. In many cases the athlete may earn a college degree while playing Saturday gladiator for Goober U. Sadly, all too often Goober U. did not prepare the athlete to earn gainful employment outside of his sport. You're done playing. Here is your mickey mouse Goober degree - bye!

One would guess that professional sport contracts are pretty complicated, and a good lawyer/agent does provide guidance and some protection for the athlete - for a handsome fee. Thus professional sport salaries have become obscene. The higher the salary, the higher the agent's percentage of that salary.

One would see why an agent would want to get a contract with a sure-fire-to-make-it pro athlete as early as possible. There is money to be made so why not slip the athlete some up-front funds in order to get his name on the dotted line? A really big-timer would be worth the risk.

The powers that be should make it very painful for the agent who works outside the guidelines. At the very least, the NFL should suspend all dealings with an agent who has caused an athlete to lose college eligibility.

Ivy League, Part 3

2010-09-17T09:27:00.000-04:00

At present the six power conferences and television pretty much control college football. Even though not all schools in these conferences are operating in the black, all of the biggest budgets are here. This means some programs can be extravagant if not down right arrogant. If the present trend continues, where will it all end?

What if some sort of common sense was forced upon everyone? For instance, what if each FBS program was reduced to 65 or 70 football scholarships instead of the present 85? Eighty-five scholarships represent four offensive and four defensive teams per squad as an example. Or three deep at each position and 19 redshirts. Is that much depth really necessary?

What if all Division I programs (FBS and FCS) were allowed 70 scholarships? The Ohio State-Michigan game will still draw over 100,000 and a national television audience and schools will save 15 scholarships, which could be a considerable saving. Or give those 15 scholarships to say, softball or baseball.

This would mean that Appalachian State has as many scholarships as Michigan. Whoa! Michigan sure isn’t for that simply because they are Michigan, even though Appalachian State (63 scholarships) defeated the Big Blue in the Big House in 2008. Villanova has as many as the University of Pittsburg. Whoa! The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has the same as UT Knoxville. That will never happen.

But what if every school in DI had a 70 scholarship limit, it is still a level playing field. If everyone has the same, then no one has an advantage. Funding tuition, room and board, tutoring services, books and materials, and other support services requires a lot less for 70 athletes than 85. And it will not make a difference to those 100,000 spectators mentioned above.

The budget for athletics at Ivy League schools is a part of the overall operating budget of each school. There are no separate athletic “corporations” like those that operate at most of the power conference schools. Funding Ivy programs does not require tens of millions in athletic-related revenue. Ivy League athletics is for the students who are interested in competing and operates as an educational program of the school. Team members are real student-athletes, taking real courses, earning real degrees.

There are no athletic scholarships in the Ivy League, but there is need-based financial aid. A bright, but poor (I think the politically correct term is economically disadvantaged) student from Tennessee can qualify for full tuition at Yale. Theoretically Yale could have 100 football players receiving financial aid. But if an athlete’s parents are wealthy, they pay the full tuition. Why wouldn’t this work for everyone? Think of the money to be saved by schools struggling to build or maintain competitive programs.

Oh my gosh. My friend Bob Lee has really done it this time.

2010-07-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

He calls it like we all see it:

Players From Mars - Fans From Venus

With everyone lathered up over sports agents and athletes, this is an appropriate time to bring up some serious ponderables. Today’s title comes from a psycho-babble book about men & women being different.....

SEC FB coaches like Saban and Miles and Spurrier are trashing "sports agents" as sleazy pimps. Isn't that like Kim Jong Il telling us Hugo Chavez is a bed-wetter?

Enjoy the entire thought. You just have to read this.

The Ivy Way, Part 2

2010-07-20T13:40:00.000-04:00

Presently the United States is suffering a recession. People are out of work. Folks are losing their houses to foreclosure, da, da,da. Some college programs are cash rich and some are struggling.

According to Forbes Magazine, in 2005 there were 10 college football teams raked in at least $45 million in revenues--among them, the University of Notre Dame, University of Georgia, Ohio State and Auburn University--compared to none the previous five years. Forbes Magazine

In 2007–08 according to a study by The Orlando Sentinel, there were six college football programs with over $90 million in football revenue and nine more with revenues of over $80 million. If you care, Louisiana-Monroe had the smallest income at $7.8 million.

So is college football all about the money or what? In order to sustain and surpass such profits, schools will have to raise ticket and concession prices, demand heftier donations for the privilege of purchasing season tickets, and garner more lucrative corporate sponsorships, among other yet devised means.

To keep up with their conference and national foes, new facilities will need to be built and present ones renovated. For example, there is a lot of profit in building and selling luxury suites at stadiums. Recruiting budgets will certainly need to be increased as recruiting bases get larger and coaches’ salaries will zoom. All will require larger and larger budgets and the income to support such budgets.

Why? To what purpose does the athletic arms war contribute to a university, its mission and its goals? At many of these schools barely one-half of their Saturday gladiators even graduate.

2010 FCS Preseason Poll

2010-07-08T08:20:00.000-04:00

1. Montana
2. Appalachian State
3. William & Mary
4. Villanova
5. South Carolina State
6. Southern Illinois
7. Elon
8. Richmond
9. New Hampshire
10. South Dakota State
11. Delaware

Villanova won it all in 2009, but doesn't have the talent to repeat.
Montana can never be counted out any year.
William & Mary could be in the title game.
Appalacian State will see what life is like witout Armanti Edwards.
The title game has been moved from Chattanooga to Frisco, Texas, and will have to compete with the Cotton Bowl. Too bad for the FCS. No team within 600 miles will be in the championship game.

The Ivy League Concept

2010-07-05T17:53:00.000-04:00

The Ivy League members are: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale. The Ivy League competes in the NCAA Division 1 in all sports. Football competes in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), once known as I-AA.

Before the advent of athlete scholarships at most present day football-playing schools, the Ivy League won more than 40 recognized national football championships. Princeton won 24 and Yale, 19.

The league sponsors more sports and more teams than any conference in the country, 33 men’s and women’s sports and an average of 35 varsity teams at each school. There are no athletic scholarships at Ivy League schools.

“Athletes shall be admitted as students and awarded financial aid only on the basis of the same academic standards and economic need as are applied to all other students”. Wikipedia.com

Since 2002, the Ivy League…

- Produced 47 NCAA individual national champions.

- Amassed nearly 100 student-athletes per year earning All-American honors

- Totaled 136 Academic All-Americans

- Had 223 competitors at the five Olympic Games (2000 – 2010), collecting 91 metals, including six gold.

“This successful competition in Division I national athletics is achieved by approaching athletics as a key part of the student's regular undergraduate experience: with rigorous academic standards, the nation's highest four-year graduation rates (the same as those for non-athletes), and without athletics scholarships. Ivy athletic programs receive multi-million-dollar institutional support as part of each institution’s overall academic programs, independent of win-loss or competitive records and together with extensive programs of intramural and recreational athletics.” IvyLeaguesports.com

Athletics is funded through the general school budget, not athletics receipts. Harvard will have a football program regardless of gate receipts or television revenue. Athletics is one part of the total academic program. Isn’t this the way college athletics programs should be managed?

Of course there are no 80- or 90- or 100,000 seat stadiums in the Ivy League. You will not see an IL school in a bowl game. (The Ivy League presidents forbid post season play in football). There are no $2 million coaches in the Ivy either. But every athlete is a real student-athlete. Every athlete is in the same admissions pool as every other student. Every athlete takes real courses and is on track to graduate.

Why would this same philosophy not work at, say, an SEC school? Because many athletes at SEC schools do not have to meet the same admissions standards as non-athlete students. Are there students at SEC or Big 12 or ACC schools who are academically prepared for college? Students who will never graduate? The Ivy League has a graduation rate of over 90%, compared to some SEC schools who graduate (within five years) only 50% of their athletes. Yet everyFootball Bowl Subdivision () FBS school spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to support tutoring programs for athletes. Is this to help them graduate or just to stay eligible?

One can say that we are not comparing apples to apples. The Ivy League schools have a different philosophy than other schools, especially the large public universities. This is a fair assessment. But let’s do a little “out-of-the-box” thinking for a few paragraphs.

END of PART 1

Happy 4th ... maybe

2010-07-05T12:25:00.000-04:00

Hope no one lost any fingers lighting fireworks. My neighborhood was a fireworks war zone from about 9:30 pm until midnight. My poor dog barked himself hoarse.

Every year we are reminded of the wisdom of our founding fathers. A government for the people and by the people was unheard of in the 18th century. The US Constitution has stood the test of time. Now we take our country and our freedoms too much for granted.

We always felt reasonably safe through wars, the Great Depression, desegregation, and a multitude of other fears and threats. We knew that our present leaders were just as wise as the Ben Franklins and George Washingtons of the past. We looked on them as intelligent men and women who possessed integrity and were willing to give up a normal comfortable life to be "public servents". Oh my. The time has come to maybe be a little fearful of a government structure that has become too huge, with far too many dishonest hands in the common barrel. Men and women who have no fear of God as did the founding fathers.

Guess maybe we have become too smart, too saavy for a God of the ages. We have highly educated, very intelligent, honest men and women to run the government. Why should I be afraid. If they can't solve the problems, our computers will eventually do it. More... maybe.

A Manning Day

2010-06-24T13:37:00.000-04:00

I just returned to my office from watching Peyton Manning having a passing route workout with two of his Colt wide receivers, Austin Collie and Anthony Gonzales. I work at an all boys school (I retired in 2008 after 35 years as athletics director), with a great strength facility and an artificial turf field. Manning has worked out here often. He has a business and a home here in Chattanooga.

They had a printed script of their workout and did not do a lot of standing around, even though the temperature was over 100 on the field. They worked on individual and combination routes for well over an hour from the + 35 yardline. Very impressive.

Back when I was a boy

2010-06-24T08:31:00.001-04:00

A bottle of Coke was 5 cents
A gallon of gas was 33 cents
Men looked and acted like men
Nice girls were shy and did not use 4-letter words
The World Series was in early September
A real man kept his word
Pray was ok anytime, anywhere
College and professional athletes were positive role models
Big business was conducted with integrity
Marriage was a lifetime commitment
Divorce was shameful
Hard work was honored
Government was not so big
"Political Correctness" was not a phrase let alone a philosophy
If you failed, you failed - no excuses and no one else to blame
America defended its people from foreign invaders
Americans believed in the Ten Commandments, as did our founding fathers
If I did wrong, I got a spanking and it did not warp my id
The 1957 Chevy hardtop was the coolest car ever
Being mediocre was not a good thing

SEC muscles get bigger… not the Wall Street SEC

2009-07-23T16:00:00.001-04:00

SEC muscles get bigger… not the Wall Street SEC

This week, in Hoover, Alabama, the Southeastern Conference is in the midst of its annual football media days. Over 1000 media credentials were issued. SEC commissioner, Mike Slive, in his presentation of the state of the SEC, reminded everyone of the overseas bank accounts loaded with conference cash.

Last summer the Southeastern conference stuck an historic deal with TV sports specialist ESPN - $2.25 Billion over 15 years. For the 12-school league, that is $15 million per year for each institution. Throw in the CBS / SEC deal of $800 million, and almost lowly Vanderbilt and lowly Mississippi State will each get about $17 million annually just from television. Both contracts will net the SEC and its member schools an average of $200 million a year.

In contrast the ACC has two years left on its television contracts at about $37 million yearly. Notre Dame, who years ago negotiated its own contract with NBC, receives $9 million a year. It is reported that Big Ten schools receive $7 million per school from the Big Ten Network and another $9 million from their ABC contract. Oh, by the way, Georgia just signed a marketing rights deal with IPS Sports worth $92.8 million

The playing field just got very unlevel. Fair or not, the SEC has a competitive advantage over everyone else.

More money means newer and better facilities and heftier recruiting budgets to lure better athletes. More money means more million dollar head coaches and the highest assistant coaches’ salaries in the country. The tables have somewhat turned as SEC head coaches can now command a bigger financial package than the NFL guys.

The big payouts mean that the SEC should dominate the national championship landscape year in and year out, and not only in the sport of football. There are already some millionaire basketball coaches in the conference as well.

The combined CBS and ESPN contracts also mean far more media coverage than anyone else. The SEC will control the amount of press conferences and sports talk we view daily. Could the SEC turn into the MLCF, Major League College Football, and everyone else the minor leagues? Big Ten, Pac-10 and Big 12 fans will certainly be offended by such a notion, but well spent cash can separate one from the crowd.

Have we lost our whole perspective about amateur sports? Sure, the professional sports leagues have (and should have) a whole different philosophy about sport. In the pros, it is a business. The use of a kid’s game to support a vast array of professions - players, coaches, general mangers, ticket sellers, concessionaires, agents and on and on. The name of the game is WINNING. The name of the game is make money. Should this be the same philosophy of collegiate sport schools and leagues?

Heck, the SEC may be better off financially than the NFL, because a college football program doesn’t pay the major performers – those weekend gladiators who are at college to learn about calculus, English literature, and physics.

Yeah, Man. It’s all about the money and has nothing to do with education. We are screwed up in this country when it comes to sports, rock stars, Facebook, and texting.

Hoover, Alabama? All the hotels in the Bahamas must have been booked up.

July 23, 2009

Men Are Like...

2009-06-29T11:38:00.001-04:00

For all those men who say, Why buy a cow when you can get milk for free. Here's an update for you: Nowadays, 80% of women are against marriage, WHY? Because women realize it's not worth buying an entire pig just to get a little sausage.

Men are like....
Men are like Laxatives. They irritate the crap out of you.
Men are like. Bananas. The older they get, the less firm they are.
Men are like Weather. Nothing can be done to change them.
Men are like Blenders. You need One, but you're not quite sure why.
Men are like Commercials. You can't believe a word they say.
Men are like .. Government Bonds ..... They take soooooooo long to mature.
Men are like .. Mascara . They usually run at the first sign of emotion.
Men are like Lava Lamps. Fun to look at, but not very bright.
Men are like Parking Spots. All the good ones are taken, the rest are handicapped.

Should the government tax college sports

2009-06-16T14:23:00.002-04:00

Posted by:
Economist.com NEW YORK
Categories:
Sports and games
UNIVERSITY sports are a big business in America. The NCAA men's basketball tournament added $143m in revenue for athletic departments, and football typically brings in even more. It is one of the more curious aspects of American universities that many run successful sports franchises in addition to providing education.

The government has taken notice. As it scours the economy for new sources of revenue, the CBO is exploring options to tax university sports franchises. University activities tend to be tax-free, yet college sports provide a non-trivial amount of revenue. The report offers three ways to tax sports: limiting deductions on charitable contributions to athletic programmes, limiting the use of tax-exempt bonds, and limiting the exemption from income taxation for these activities.

The first idea has some merit. Donors to college athletic programmes get priority to purchase season tickets. Bigger or frequent contributions entitle donors to better tickets. Many fans bcome donors for this reason alone, so the donation is effectively part of the purchase price. But because it counts as a charitable contribution it is also 80% tax exempt. The demand for tickets for die-hard fans is probably fairly inelastic, so this may be good source of tax revenue.

The other two options are more problematic. First, Jonathan and Peter Orszag (the latter now a former director of the CBO and now head of the OMB) with Bob Litan found most athletic programmes lose money for the university. But according to the CBO report, 101 out of 164 Division I teams turn a profit. Still, the profits average just $1.6m per school—not a huge source of revenue. Teams with successful basketball and football teams tend to do better, but athletic success can be unpredictable year to year. The CBO report also cautions that having some university activities non-tax-exempt may just incentivise accounting practices to circumvent the new tax treatment.

Further, we’ve written before that these franchises can have positive externalities for the university. Winning a championship increases interest in a university which can bring in donors and applicants. It can act as an advertisement for the university, improving academics. With lower endowments and less financial support from state governments, universities need all the help they can get these days.

Thanks, Atlanta

2009-06-16T11:32:00.002-04:00

Hooray for the Falcons in sending Michael Vick on his merry way. Athletes at every level have to be accountable for their actions. With the gift of talent comes reponsibility - too many athletes take their talent for granted or worse, take full credit for it.

The F-word and other crap

2009-06-15T10:50:00.000-04:00

Corporate America has been shaken recently by lawsuits and criminal charges of fraud by Enron, Martha Stewart, AIG and the whole subprime loan scam. Huge companies who lied to stockholders, the SEC and the government. They all took stockholders’ money and then violated their trust by mishandling it for the profit of top officers. Good old common greed at work at its best. But isn’t that what’s becoming of America? It’s all about the money.

For instance, the movie classic Gone With The Wind almost didn’t make it to theaters because of the last line spoken by Rhett Butler. In answer to Scarlet’s question, “What will I do?” Rhett’s answer of, “ Frankly, My Dear, I don’t give a damn” almost got it axed by the movie censors. How far have we come from that? How much garbage has our kids and their kids heard and seen since Gone With the Wind? But garbage sells.
The F-word is everywhere. Some folks cannot utter a complete sentence without it containing the F-word. Sex, violence, filthy language, bombards each of us daily. In entertainment, in advertising, in schools, in sports and on the street, the degradation of morality and goodness is commonplace.
Child sexual molestation and child pornography are killing children physically and psychologically. Parents are robbing their own kids’ of their childhood by dragging them at age five or younger to soccer and baseball fields or gymnastics and ballet. And in most cases the children observe their parents exhibit the worse in sportsmanship. The best uniforms, equipment, and trophies for everyone by age five feeds parents’ egos at the expense of damaging tender youth and innocence.

The government is no better. A president having sex with a young page and then lying about it stays in office. A Congress that begins each session with prayer while the Supreme Court is working furiously to band God from everything. The Ten Commandments treated with less respect than the Communist Manifesto. A virus that kills people by the thousands spread by the practice of homosexuality while such a lifestyle is being celebrated in television shows, movies, on the streets and even in Congress, state legislatures, and federal courts.

The very institutions that are supposed to uphold and protect the integrity and dignity of our society are waging vicious attacks on the moral fiber of this country. John F. Kennedy’s famous statement, “Don’t ask what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” has been perverted into the direct opposite philosophy. We are teaching Americans that it is just and right to take from those who work for it and give it to those who refuse to work.

Unreal?

2009-06-15T10:34:00.000-04:00

Hey, Gang. Just another day in unreal (fantacy) land. $2 million+ coaches at educational institutions? Medical school professors at about $90,000. The emphasis is quite clear. It's more important to display the athletic skills of nonstudent-athletes than to train people to save lives.

I love Saturday's in the fall as much as anyone. If I do not personnaly attend a game, then I am glued to the TV for the day like all good, red-blooded Southerners. But with an eye for the hypocracy of it all.

2009-06-15T10:33:00.000-04:00