NEWSLETTER: Buddy Martin’s GatorBait/Inside Straight: June 8, 2022
It’s All About The Benjamins. Maybe Also The Starbucks Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte
It’s becoming a cliché, but you can hardly write a sports story these days without the subject of money being part of it. Once upon a time it was about the love of competition and love of the game, but it has all been hijacked by the Benjamins.
Is all of sports for sale?
Filthy lucre reigns supreme. College sports reeks with it, from eight-figure coaching contracts to NIL multi-million-dollar quarterbacks. In other sports, hundreds of millions being guaranteed to PGA Tour players jumping ship to the Saudi Arabian golf league. NFL franchises being bought for a staggering $4.6 billion. And people like Tom Brady are making enough to almost BUY an NFL team.
I’m jealous, of course. At the same time, I’m reminded of that old English proverb about the guy who “knows the price of everything … but the value of nothing.”
Think about it.
And all the Gator Collective is asking: Give up the price of a Starbucks Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte every week for a month to sponsor a UF athlete. (About $20). Or even once a month. ($5)
Mo’ Money: They Said It – Or Wrote It
So Long Jud, And Thanks
Scott Carter makes an excellent point about Jud Fabian on Floridagators.com, who turned down a chance to live as a millionaire to play another year of Gator baseball: “In Monday's loss to the Sooners, Fabian made a leaping catch at the wall to rob Robertson of extra bases in the fourth inning and saved a run with a diving catch in the sixth inning. Fabian departs as one of the best ever to play center field for the Gators. "This guy made a decision that probably most people in this room wouldn't make,’‘(Kevin) O'Sullivan said. "How can you not appreciate that? He will be missed."
Who Wants To Get Fired? Maybe Jimbo.
Connor O’Gara of Saturday Down South: “Under the current parameters of his contract, Jimbo Fisher could ‘in theory’ go 8-4 the next four seasons and A&M would still need to pay him $57.9 million to fire him at the end of the 2025 season.”
The Hustle
Ryan Day estimates $13 million needed in NIL money to maintain Ohio State football roster beyond next season. Didn’t Gov. John Bel Edwards, governor of Louisiana, try this kind of blackmail a few years ago when he threatened to drop LSU football if the legislature didn’t approve his budget? How’d that go?
Meanwhile, They Said This:
“I’m a firm believer that this is a positive. We’re living in a different era … One of the things about my career is I’ve been in the profession and observed this explosion. It’s foolish to say the players don’t deserve a piece of the pie. If there are no players in these stadiums, nobody’s showing up to watch …” -- Billy Napier to Allan Taylor of The Athletic.
"It was pretty hard to contain that smile in the ninth inning when I ran out. It was one of the best moments of my entire life." – Rookie Freshman Pitcher Carsten Finnvold.
Feleipe A Tight End. Why Not?
Former Florida QB Feleipe Franks is moving to TE/WR for the Atlanta Falcons. Had Dan Mullen known that he could have been playing the right guy at quarterback a year earlier – Kyle Trask.
My Top Five Coaches
Everybody else seems to be chirping about this, so why not me?
--SEC: 1. Nick Saban, 2. Kirby Smart, 3. Jimbo Fisher, 4. Lane Kiffin. 5. (tie) Billy Napier and Brian Kelly.
--National: 1. Nick Saban, 2. Kirby Smart, 3. Ryan Day, 4. Lincoln Riley, 5. Dabo Swinney.
Trenton Tough
Wyatt Langford went to the dentist DURING that 5-1/2 hour weather delay of the Florida-Oklahoma baseball game after he collided at second and dislodged two teeth, came back and hit a home run tie the single season record held by Matt LaPorta. Can he play linebacker?
The Village Was Never Lovelier On The Plains
My friend Rob Browne of Sidelines agrees with this:
Auburn’s Butch Thompson deserves consideration for national coach of the year. After being picked to finish dead last in the SEC West, the Tigers swept their regional in dominating fashion and are headed to a super regional. Auburn? Who knew?
Return With Us Now To Yesteryear…
Taurean Green on his new job as director of player of development for Todd Golden: “It feels great. Everything comes full circle. I’m just appreciative of coach Golden giving me an opportunity to be part of the staff, to come back to the University of Florida. It’s a great opportunity -- young, energetic staff, really knows basketball -- and the guys have really been working so far, but it’s early.”
Good News/Bad News
1.There will be a Year Three for Ted Lasso on Apple TV, possibly my favorite TV Show.
2.It will be the last.
Why?
Today’s Quote Worth Remembering
“If you're going to be a symbol for something, what could be more pleasant than a symbol for baby food?" — Ann Turner Cook of Tampa, who was the original Gerber baby and who died last week at 95, per the Tampa Bay Times
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