Thoughts of the Day: June 22, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

SUPREMES 9, NCAA 0 … NCAA GETS RUN-RULED

Monday’s unanimous 9-0 ruling by the United States Supreme Court might explain why Mark Emmert was given a five-year contract extension complete with a raise to continue running the organization that we will soon know as the late, great NCAA. When you have the perfect fall guy in place why go to all the trouble of hiring somebody new to try to explain why the organization didn’t see disaster on the horizon?

Now, Mark Emmert isn’t solely responsible for the trouble that the NCAA is in, but he is indeed someone who is being paid an enormous amount of money to navigate the organization through trying and difficult times and he’s not very good at his job. If Mark Emmert had been either Meriwether Lewis or William Clark the expedition to explore the Louisiana Purchase and beyond would have never gotten any farther than Council Bluffs, Iowa.

It’s not fair to place all the blame for the NCAA troubles on Emmert. The winds of change in college sports have been blowing for years, and long before Emmert became the leader predecessors Cedric Dempsey and Myles Brand didn’t exactly forge an enlightened path. Neither did Dempsey and Brand oversee the NCAA at a time when it was raking in such staggering amounts of money, either, and if not for the money, college sports might not be at the crossroads it’s at today. Athletes aren’t stupid. They see their coaches getting multi-year contracts that pay millions. They see schools like Texas and Texas A&M with athletic budgets heading to $200 million per year and beyond. They see conferences like the Big Ten distributing more than $50 million a year to member institutions.

So, do we even have to ask why athletes have become more vocal, questioning why it is they take all the risks and provide all the entertainment while all this money is being made and issues such as their long-term health care aren’t addressed? I’ve been writing about college sports for more than 50 years and I’ve had more conversations than I can count with athletes who have lingering health issues from injuries they suffered playing college sports and their former school isn’t allowed to lift a hand to help them.

I am reminded of the Ray Graves era at the University of Florida. Athletes whose eligibility expired before they graduated could come to Coach Graves who would find them jobs, help them get apartments and do whatever he could to ensure they could finish up classwork for their college degree. What he did back in the 1960s is a violation that will get a coach fired and a school put on probation these days and times. That’s something the NCAA could have and should have addressed decades ago but didn’t.

Had the NCAA addressed just these two grievances – long term health care and continuing education – we might not have all these court cases lining up that threaten to put an end to college sports as we know them. Rather than face the problems head on and deal with them, the NCAA has instead gone to court and in one case after another gotten its proverbial butt handed to it on a platter.

That’s what happened Monday. In issuing their scathing rebuke of the NCAA, the Supremes said the NCAA can’t cap the amount of compensation any one school can offer its athletes as long as it pertains to educational benefits. Based on the Monday ruling, the University of Florida, for instance, can offer scholarship athletes computers, more access to tutoring, internships, semesters abroad, guarantees of continuing education after eligibility is expired and other benefits that are related to education. The NCAA has been saying this is excessive compensation.

The Monday ruling was not about athletes getting paid for their work nor was it about name, image and likeness. Those issues will be addressed in court all too soon and judging by the written opinion of Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh, the NCAA will lose those cases, too.

Here is what Kavanaugh wrote:

“Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate. And under ordinary principles of antitrust law it is not evident why college sports should be any different. The NCAA is not above the law.”

The changes that are about to take place involve issues that could have been dealt with years ago. Rather than working with athletes to find solutions, however, the NCAA has been trying to defend indefensible positions all the way to the Supreme Court where it has an abysmal record. It didn’t have to be that way. If the NCAA had good sense it would have long ago hired a leader who understood that the times are changing and if the organization doesn’t change with the times, its days are numbered.

But that might explain exactly why Mark Emmert was given a raise and a contract extension. Why bring in someone else to take the fall when you all you have to do is extend the contract of the certifiably incompetent leader you already have in place?

WHERE ARE THEY NOW (GATORS IN MAJORS AND MINORS)

Major Leagues

Pete Alonso, 1B (New York Mets): Hitting .247 with 11 HR, 35 RBI.

Harrison Bader, OF (St. Louis Cardinals): Hitting .219 with 4 HR, 9 RBI, 3 stolen bases.

Anthony DeSclafani, P (San Francisco Giants): 7-2 record with 3.01 ERA, 71 strikeouts in 80.2 innings.

Dane Dunning, P (Texas Rangers): 2-6 record with 4.71 ERA, 71 strikeouts in 6 5 innings.

Jonathan India, 2B (Cincinnati Reds): Hitting .258 with 6 HR, 29 RBI, 4 stolen bases.

Jackson Kowar, P (Kansas City Royals): 0-2 record with 18.00 ERA, 2 strikeouts in 5 innings.

Darren O’Day, P (New York Yankees): 0-0 record with 3.00 ERA, 9 strikeouts in 9 innings.

Richie Martin, SS (Baltimore Orioles): Hitting .170 with 1 RBI.

Brady Singer, P (Kansas City Royals): 3-5 record with 4.71 ERA, 71 strikeouts in 68 innings.

Mike Zunino, C (Tampa Bay Rays): Hitting .193 with 14 HR, 30 RBI.

Minor Leagues

Shaun Anderson, P (Round Rock Express, AAA): 0-0 record with 9.35 ERA, 8 strikeouts in 8-2/3 innings.

Michael Byrne, P (Chattanooga Lookouts, AA): 1-2 record with a 1.00 ERA, 1 save, 15 strikeouts in 9 innings.

Wil Dalton, OF (Salem Red Sox, A): Hitting .241 with 4 HR, 17 RBI, 4 stolen bases.

Tyler Dyson, P (Wilmington Blue Rocks, A): 1-2 record with a 2.77 ERA, 26 strikeouts in 26 innings.

Alex Faedo, P (Erie Sea Wolves, AA): Injured, Tommy John surgery.

Taylor Gushue, C (Iowa Cubs, AAA): Hitting .239 with 3 HR, 23 RBI.

Dalton Guthrie, 3B (Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, AAA): Hitting .222 with 3 HR, 13 RBI, 2 SB.

Eric Hanhold, P (Norfolk Tides, AAA): 1-1 record with 6.14 ERA, 1 save, 8 strikeouts in 7-1/3 innings.

Mark Kolozsvary, C (Chattanooga Lookouts, AA): Hitting .292 with 2 HR, 15 RBI.

Deacon Liput, SS (Great Lakes Loons, A): Hitting .214 with 3 HR, 16 RBI, 5 stolen bases.

Nelson Maldonado, OF (Tennessee, AA): Hitting .273 with 1 HR, 12 RBI.

Brady McConnell, SS (Columbia, A): Hitting .202 with 3 HR, 16 RBI, 3 stolen bases.

Scott Moss, P (Columbus Clippers, AAA): 0-3 record with a 5.79 ERA, 19 strikeouts in 14 innings.

Bobby Poyner, P (Worcester Red Sox, AAA): 0-0 record with a 9.53 ERA, 12 strikeouts in 11-1/3 innings.

A.J. Puk, P (Las Vegas Aviators, AAA): 0-0 record with 4 strikeouts in 3-1/3 innings.

Buddy Reed, OF (Las Vegas Aviators, AAA): Hitting .262 with 9 RBI, 2 stolen bases.

Mike Rivera, C (Akron Rubber Ducks, AA): Hitting .186 with 1 HR, 8 RBI.

Frank Rubio, P (Richmond Flying Squirrels, AA): 1-2 record with a 3.77 ERA, 14 strikeouts in 14-1/3 innings.

JJ Schwarz, C (Midland RockHounds, AA): Hitting .265 with 2 HR, 8 RBI.

Logan Shore, P (Toledo Mud Hens, AAA): 2-2 record with a 4.44 ERA, 20 strikeouts in 24-1/3 innings.

Kirby Snead, P (Buffalo Bisons, AAA): 1-0 record with a 1.45 ERA, 2 saves, 25 strikeouts in 18-2/3 innings.

Danny Young, P (Columbus Clippers, AAA): 1-1 record with a 5.75 ERA, 27 strikeouts in 20-1/3 innings.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama: Forward James Rojas, who averaged 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game last season, will require surgery for a torn ACL. It’s the second time in three years Rojas has torn his ACL.

Arkansas: Shot-putter Ryan Cruser, who set the world record with a throw of 76 feet, 8-1/4 inches at the Olympic trials, is a volunteer on the Arkansas track coaching staff.

Auburn: Auburn has scheduled home-and-home football games with Miami with Auburn traveling to Miami in 2029 and Miami playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2030.

Georgia: On WJOX in Birmingham Monday, Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network said he likes the chances of Kirby Smart to win a national championship in 2021 more than Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley or Ohio State coach Ryan Day. Finebaum said, “I think it’s Kirby Smart because I think of those three he’s got the best chance this year, and by the way not by much over Lincoln Riley. I think this is an Oklahoma team that finally is capable but I see the same fate for Oklahoma as always.”

LSU: Who does LSU turn to next in its search to replace retiring baseball coach Paul Manieri? Kevin O’Sullivan, Pat Casey and now Mike Bianco have just said no to Scott Woodward. East Carolina coach Cliff Goodwin has been interviewed but hasn’t been offered the job. Media outlets in Louisiana have reported that Woodward is eyeing Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin and Tennessee coach Tony Vitello.

Mississippi State: The seventh-seeded Bulldogs (46-16) face unseeded Virginia (36-25) tonight in a winner’s bracket game at the College World Series.

Ole Miss: Rather than lose baseball coach Mike Bianco to LSU, Ole Miss gave him a four-year contract extension complete with an undisclosed raise. Bianco, who made $1.2 million this past season, is an LSU grad who has been the head coach at Ole Miss since 1999.

South Carolina: Combo guard Seventh Woods, who spent the 2020-21 season at South Carolina after transferring in from North Carolina, is on the move again, this time to Morgan State. Woods averaged 5.4 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the Gamecocks last season.

Tennessee: The No. 3 seed Vols (50-17) will try to stay alive in the College World Series today when they face No. 2 Texas (47-16) in an elimination game at 2 p.m.

Texas A&M: Texas A&M has created an entire department to help athletes profit off name, image and likeness.

Vanderbilt: Jack Leiter pitched a four-hitter and struck out 15 North Carolina State batters Monday night at the College World Series in Omaha. On just about any other night that would be a winning performance, but one of the hits left the yard and it was the only run the Wolfpack needed to send Vandy (46-16) to the elimination bracket. The Commodores will face Stanford (39-16), a 14-5 winner over Arizona (45-18), Wednesday afternoon with the loser goes home game.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Connor O’Gara of Saturday Down South recently wrote, “Imagine being as bad at cheating as Arizona State was. Allegedly, of course.” He follows that up with this rather insightful statement: “Imagine if that thing happened in the SEC.” Arizona State, if you haven’t been following, has been accused of bringing in dozens of football recruits during an NCAA-mandated dead period with head coach Herm Edwards to host recruits in his office. It’s a big story, for sure, but imagine, as O’Gara wrote, if something this blatant happened in the Southeastern Conference. There is this national perception that the SEC has cornered the market on old fashioned cheating when it comes to recruiting. Does cheating happen in the SEC? You would be foolish to think otherwise. Is it as bad in the SEC as it is in the rest of the country. Once again, you would be foolish to think otherwise.