Uncle Bob: Hell I know, I pretty near lost Corrine and the kids a couple of times just 'cause of pride. You know you think that ol' pride's gonna choke you going down but I tell you what, ain't a night goes by I don't thank the boss up there for giving me a big enough throat. 'Cause without Corrine and them kids hell I'd just be another pile of dog shit in the cantaloupe patch just drawing flies.
Bud: I guess so.
Uncle Bob: Think about it Bud, pride's one of those seven deadlies, you know what I mean?
The NCAA has a pride problem. Not a money problem. Not a union problem. And most-certainly not a student-athlete problem.
Nope, more than anything else, the NCAA is suffering from the one thing Barry Corbin's character warned about in the greatest mechanical-bull riding movie ever created … pride. The organization has been selling and profiting from the same shameful message for so long that in these days that would appear to be crying for a modified position, pride just won't allow for it.
With lawsuit after lawsuit forming around the NCAA, its leadership will not bend because bending would mean an admission that a loss of power has taken place and when you've exclusively ruled with an iron, unquestionable fist for decades, while cashing unshared checks to the tune of billions, perhaps that is to be expected. Bending would also jeopardize both inside and outside financial positions, which simply cannot happen after all these years of eating the entire pie without so much as taking the time to slice a piece for anyone else.
Oh, there are a lot of words that better describe the motives of the NCAA during all of these years, but that big ol' piece of pride pie that is stuck in its throat is the one that will quite possibly be its downfall in the coming years because here's the unquestionable bottom line … the NCAA is in the wrong and change ? whether forced or volunteered ? is on the way.
Why?
Because very slowly people are waking up and realizing the absurdity of the current NCAA model, which must have been established right before the first huge TV contract was agreed upon in what must have been a conversation that sounded like this …
University president No. 1 (probably from the Big 10): Wow, this is a lot of money. A lot of money. Does anyone think that we should share some of this with the student-athletes? It would be nice if we could find a way to give them a little more than the standard class, room and books because these kids actually have a lot of needs in the real world.
University president No. 2 (probably from the SEC): Share?
University president No. 1: Yeah. Don't misunderstand me, I would never suggest they receive anything close to three percent of the revenue, but maybe we can come up with something that can show a little bit of appreciation. Sort of a thank you.
University president No. 3: (also probably from the SEC): Appreciation? A thank you? What the hell are you talking about?
University president No. 1: Well, this isn't right, is it? We can't expect to make millions, while not giving them anything more than what they are already receiving? We'll lose our jobs. We'll never get away with this.
University president No. 2: (takes a long drink of bourbon) This is what you don't understand. Not only are we going to get away with it, we'll have the support the people because they aren't going to want the athletes to receive anything out of a combination of their own self-interests. Do you know how many people out there wish they could have played football for their school on scholarship? Hell, many of them would have paid us for the opportunity
University president No. 3: I reckon some would give us a leg if we asked.
University president No. 2: Exactly. Do you know how many people have student loans that they can never pay off? You think they are going cry a river for these football players to get more money?
University president No. 1: I just don't know about this.
University president No. 3: (takes a long drink of bourbon): No, he's right. Also, we'll immediately start a campaign of doomsday rhetoric centered on the idea that the death of amateurism would horrendously maim the original objective of our universities' scholastic intent. On top of that, we'll convince everyone that if any of the money is shared, the entire system will crumble to the ground and the college sports that they love would cease to exist.
University president No. 2: Hell, we'll even throw Title IX in the scare discussions as well because that thing scares everyone to death to such a degree that they won't even want to explore other options out of fear of having to deal with whatever the hell Title IX really is.
University president No. 1: (giggling) You really think this will work?
University president No. 2: Have you ever been to the Hamptons? I purchased a place out there last summer. Let me show you my photos from last summer and you're going to feel much better about our idea.
University president No. 1: (giggling) I love America.
While those university presidents were spot on with their assessment of the landscape that would comfortably await their swindle, their own greed has eventually become their undoing. The truth of the matter is that there were many people within the NCAA body worried for years that the reckoning was coming because too much money is being made. With every new TV contract and added football playoff layer, the tens of millions have turned into hundreds of millions and those hundreds of millions have turned into billions.
When the numbers were smaller, you could convince people to quietly turn away, but with every added zero to the left of the decimal on those cashed checks, more and more questions have been asked. Worse than the questions being raised is the fact that the players ? both past and current ? are organizing themselves in ways that the school presidents probably never dreamed. Worse than all of that, countless lawyers are looking at the absurdity of the current arrangement and the incredible amounts of dollars involved, and they are licking their chops.
Suddenly, the NCAA finds itself under assault in numerous courtroom settings. If it's not the O'Bannon lawsuit, it's the Northwestern union case. If it's not the Northwestern union case, it's Jeffrey Kessler's looming anti-trust case. If you don't think there will be more, you're crazy.
As for the NCAA and its constituents, the message has remained the same: Sharing is a weakness. Sell fear. Never bend.
Amazingly, those three principles remain the NCAA's official word during a time in history when many of the constituents aren't on the same page at all. Some are ready to deal and discuss various new incentives for the modern-day student athlete. Some strongly believe in some sort of stipend. Some believe in providing cost-of-living benefits. Some see this fight only through the prism of their own power conference and aren't worried about their little brothers as much as they used to.
Right here, right now … this is exactly the moment when the NCAA should listen to Uncle Bob's words of wisdom on pride.
Acknowledging that the risks of losing even one of these battles in court rather than negotiating a new deal for the modern student-athlete would go a long way in the NCAA coming out of this storm with the sweetest possible deal. Put that pride aside and acknowledge that it's time for a new set of circumstances for the workforce of your billion-dollar reality TV products.
"You know, you think that ol' pride's gonna choke you going down," Uncle Bob warned.
It won't. Not if you swallow while you can.
No. 2 - Lets Make a Deal …
At some point the school presidents and athletic directors are going to organize in a way that matches up with their own self-interests and ideologies. After years of allowing every Tom, Dick and Harry university with a little bit of initiative to feed off of their golden goose, the real power brokers within the major universities that are driving the golden eggs are going to go into self-preservation.
Hell, it's already happening. The only thing missing is the last-minute urgency that usually signals the beginning of the end.
Therefore, before we get to the specifics of what the NCAA should be offering, let's acknowledge from the very beginning that in this new brave world of college athletics that this is going to become a much more exclusive party and more than a few old constituents that piggy-backed the system into free golden eggs will either step up their game or be left out.
This is called the give and take approach, which is quite different to the old take and take world in which everyone has been living.
Part of the take for the NCAA in this deal-making is that it gets to control the language of the details. For instance, student-athletes are not about to become paid employees because what's happening here isn't a payoff, it's a reform of an outdated position. The current high-level Division I scholarship model simply needs a renegotiated upgrade, something that hasn't actually occurred in the last 60-80 years.
Like knights from King Arthur's roundtable, the NCAA can step in and gloriously volunteer that:
a. The current scholarship model wasn't designed for the modern world of collegiate athletics
b. It needs to be adjusted for the times.
It's that simple. It's not free, but it is that simple and acknowledging such represents the beginning of salvation for those in the Golden Goose Club that want to forever control the majority of the golden eggs.
This is merely The Modern Scholarship Reform Act.
Before we get to the financial stuff that everyone will want to fight and fuss over, let's get some of the easier pieces of the reform out of the way, most of which deal with a more athlete-friendly set of rights within the scholarship Among the new provisions:
I. All scholarships handed out to athletes are of the four-year variety, although subjected to be revoked if a 2.0 GPA cannot be sustained. If a player suffers an illness or injury that prohibits him or her from playing the sport, the athlete will not lose the opportunity to finish his or her education.
II. Any athlete that carries a GPA of 3.0 or above is allowed to transfer without restriction to schools outside of their current. conference if there is a coaching change within an 18-month window
III. An athletic council of elected senior athletes (set up by region) will have a place in discussions for all new non-financial NCAA initiatives.
In addition to those rights, the following concessions will be made as well
I. All athletes can sign endorsement deals. An NCAA-hired Division of Clearance will be credited to monitor player endorsement deals and there will be restrictions on the types of endorsement deals a player can accept. National sponsorships would be widely allowed, while there would be a set of restrictions that would disable local/regional/booster operations from taking place without approval.
II. All athletes will be allowed to work part-time jobs outside of the season during and around the scholastic years. A separate NCAA-hired Division of Clearance will be credited to monitor athlete employment issues.
III. The NCAA will create an initiative to explore the true ramifications of Title IX laws within the context of the modern scholarship agreement and potential amendments for the future and share those results.
For the most part, I get the sense that the majority of people can come around on the idea of what's listed above in this reform proposal, but it's the final steps of the reform that will probably require the most pride-swallowing.
Here are the major pieces of reform legislation that I would propose the NCAA voluntarily offer:
I. All student-athletes will have full medical coverage during their time as student athletes and if an injury occurs within their sport that requires treatment beyond their time as student-athletes, they'll continue to receive coverage.
II. All student-athletes will receive an added $10,000 cost-of-living benefit as part of their scholarship package that will be available for use via debit cards, pending a 2.0 or better GPA.
Bottom line: If you're an athletic program like Texas with and have a student-athlete total of nearly 500, you're going to need about five million dollars of cold hard cash per year for this Scholarship Reform to sustain your place at the big boy, Golden Goose table in college athletics. How you come up with the money is kind of up to each institution's determination, whether it be paid with TV money, fund-raising or beer sales inside the stadium.
Again, you're not paying the players, you're just increasing the value of the scholarship package (wink-wink).
If a school doesn't have the means to pay for the cost-of-living additions, then it's probably time to acknowledge that those lightweights shouldn't be eating Thanksgiving dinner at the adult table with the rest of the Golden Goose members.
Honestly, that's getting off pretty damn lightly when held up to the worst-case scenarios in a court-room and everyone wins … male athletes, female athletes and all of the schools that make most of the money.
If the NCAA had any sense, leadership and direction at all, it would already be moving in this direction.
Eventually, the deal it ends up won't be nearly as inexpensive.
No. 3 - Scattershooting on the Longhorns …
… Oh man, I can't help but wonder what Max Wittek must have been thinking this weekend while in town for the Longhorns scrimmage on Saturday. For the second time in his career, he's been handed the task of making the biggest decision of his life and for the second time in his life he has to decide from a complicated set of pros and cons that include a wide range of factors. What does he think of David Ash? What did he think of what he saw in the scrimmage? Is he convinced he can take the job away from the incumbent in two weeks of practice in August? What have the coaches told him? Every sign at this point seems to be pointing towards Wittek becoming a Longhorn in the fall, which will make for one of the most interesting August quarterback battles since Mack Brown was left trying to choose between Colt McCoy and Jevan Snead in 2006.
… This year needs to be Tyrone Swoopes' redshirt season, which he foolishly lost last season, if at all possible. The truth about Swoopes that so many are forgetting because of the foolishness from last season is that Swoopes has always been a high-upside, multi-year project as a collegiate player and at this point he's had very little time to develop as a prospect. If it takes an hour to bake a cake, you can't give up on the cake and try to turn it into cookies if it hasn't fully baked in the first 10 minutes.
… Texas needs a 100-percent committed Joe Bergeron and a 100-percent committed Joe Bergeron needs Texas. With the uncertainty of Jonathan Gray's availability this season and the overall lack of quality depth at the position, the Longhorns need their senior big back to maximize his upside and buy into Charlie Strong's way because if the latter happens in earnest, the former might occur in earnest as well.
… It makes me smile to hear that Marcus Johnson is repeatedly making noise at wide receiver. That kid's history is a story that Charlie Strong has to love.
… Memo to UT athletes. Good teammates don't let other teammates pass out drunk in public.
…. Baylor picked up a commitment from Longview running back JaMycal Hasty over the weekend and one of the big reasons for the commitment is that the Bears made a bigger commitment to him than schools like Texas and Texas A&M have been willing to make because of efforts in recruiting other in-state backs that they have ranked (if even slightly) ahead of him. With 10 of the state's top 45 prospects in the current LSR coming in at the running back position, a lot of schools are in a position to take advantage of the depth at the position by simply planning properly. It reminds me of the quarterback class in 2004 when everyone was going bananas over Rhett Bomar, Texas A&M made the decision to ignore Bomar and go heavily after the idea that Stephen McGee was the No. 1 guy.
No. 4 - With 10 months to go until Signing Day…
With the calendar turning to April this week and with the commitment of Hasty to the Bears this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to stop and take stock of what the recruiting landscape looks like heading into the upcoming spring evaluation period based on the numbers from the most recent 2015 Lone Star Recruiting Top 100 update.
Breakdown of Committed vs. Uncommitted
Top 10: Committed (3) Uncommitted (7)
Top 15: Committed (7) Uncommitted (8)
Top 25: Committed (9) Uncommitted (16)
Top 50: Committed (21) Uncommitted (29)
Breakdown of Committed Players By School
Top 10: Alabama (1), Texas A&M (1) and Texas Tech (1)
Top 15: Texas A&M (3), Alabama (1), LSU (1), Oklahoma (1) and Texas Tech (1)
Top 25: Texas A&M (3), Alabama (1), Baylor (1), LSU (1), Oklahoma (1), Texas (1) and Texas Tech (1)
Top 50: Texas A&M (8), Texas (5), Baylor (2), Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), LSU (1), Notre Dame (1), Oklahoma (1) and Texas Tech (1)
Breakdown of Committed Players By Conference
Top 10: SEC (2) and Big 12 (1)
Top 15: SEC (5) and Big 12 (2)
Top 25: SEC (5) and Big 12 (4)
Top 50: SEC (11), Big 12 (9) and Independent (1)
Breakdown of Top 25 Uncommitted Players By Position (state position rank in parenthesis)
QB: No. 7 Kyler Murray (QB1)
RB: No. 6 Ronald Jones (RB1), No. 9 Soso Jamabo (RB2), No. 20 Aca'Cedric Ware (RB3), No. 24 Tyreik Gray (RB4) and Bryson Oglesby (RB5)
WR: No. 3 DeMarkus Lodge (WR1), No. 12 Kemah Siverand (WR2), No. 18 John Humphrey (WR3)
TE: None
OL: None
DT: No. 24 Darrion Daniels (DT2)
DE: No. 16 James Lockhart (DE1),
LB: No. 1 Malik Jefferson (LB1) and No. 21 Cameron Townsend (LB2)
DB: No. 2 Kendall Sheffield (DB1), No. 4 Kris Boyd (DB2)
ATH: No. 22 J.W. Ketchum (ATH1)
A few quick notes to take away from the data …
1. Roughly 60-70 percent of the state's top players are still in play, not including players that are committed to schools and still looking around.
2. As I've stated before, the Aggies are ahead of the pack, but they aren't ahead of the pack the way Texas used to be ahead of the pack, at least not yet.
3. The running back and wide receiver positions are very strong in-state this year, but those are not the most important areas of need in this class for the Longhorns.
4. Available difference makers at tight end and along the lines on both sides of the ball are few and far between at this point.
No. 5 - A series win is a series win is a series win …
The streak of Big 12 series losses for the Texas Longhorns has ended at 12. Let's not get too involved with the details of a series that featured three radically different games … just enjoy the sweet taste of victory.
Seriously, if you don't already know the details of what happened on Sunday, don't even bother. It'll only upset you. Just take the win.
No. 6 - Six things on the way to "North Texas" …
… Say whatever you want about Kentucky, but never say they didn't earn their way to the Final Four after going through the Wichita State/Louisville/Michigan gauntlet. My goodness what a series of games they've played in and Sunday's might have been the cherry on top of the sundae.
… I guess we can stop saying the Harrison twins have under-performed this year.
… I guess Tom Izzo's team just couldn't earn the right to get to the Final Four.
… Louisville might still be playing if Russ Smith hadn't forgotten that Luke Hancock was on his team and feeling it in the final five minutes of the game.
… Charles Barkley's love for Wisconsin seven-footer Frank Kaminsky might be my favorite part of this year's tournament.
… The riot gear came out in Tucson following Arizona's loss to Wisconsin because the Wildcats faithful simply couldn't cope with the knowledge that they have lost four straight Elite Eight games by an average of 1.8 points. According to the school newspaper (The Daily Wildcat), dozens of students were shot with beanbags and pepper spray by law enforcement officers, while 15 people were arrested over an assortment of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly charges.
As for this guy? No word on whether the police were able to find his shirt. Oh Tucson, this is so Columbus of you.
No. 7 - Eternal Randomness of the Spotty Sports Mind …
… 38 games down for Kevin Durant, two more to go in his quest to chase down Michael Jordan for the second-best streak of 25+ points in a game in NBA history. On Sunday, he did it to the tune of 31 points in 29 minutes on 13 shots. Oh, and he had nine assists as well. The NBA is not supposed to be this easy.
… The Philadelphia 76ers ended their losing streak at 26 games and probably lost a chance at the worst record in the process, as the team remains two games back of the Bucks in its quest for the most Ping-Pong balls. As a fan of the team, I'm a little disappointed in their failing to secure the worst record.
… The Phillies open the season in Arlington on Monday. God help this team because it needs it.
… I'm sorry, but Major League Baseball should never begin its season in another country. It's feels un-American.
… DeSean Jackson signing in Washington will make for some incredibly interesting games against the Eagles twice per year. Part of me wants to see it happen, even if it means the Cowboys have to continue to see him twice a year as well.
… One day after Ray Rice was indicted for aggravated assault on his fiancee, he married her. I'm sure all of this will end splendidly.
No. 8 - Five Pieces of Randomness From Week Two of Parenthood …
1. A woman in my neighborhood told me on Sunday that I looked "mostly normal" when you consider that my wife and I had kids two weeks ago. Mostly normal? Is a third eye going to grow out of my forehead or something in the coming weeks?
2. Pacifiers are big deals.
3. I can already tell that I am going to be greatly annoyed by other drivers when I have my kids in the car because my aggravation levels climb when I'm driving myself to see the babies at the hospital.
4. Apparently, doing the laundry will never be the same. I received a lecture this week when doing a load of towels because my wife had just cleaned the washing machine of all normal conditions, so that she could do a load of dirty baby clothes. I'm going to make a lot of mistakes.
5. Two weeks have passed and I still feel completely uncomfortable holding my children for too long because I'm fearful that I'm going to hurt them.
No. 9 - Pop goes the culture because the culture goes pop …
… Hottie of the Weekend: Britney Spears looking damn good at 32
… WTF Moment of the Weekend: Johnny Weir's husband going to battered women's school
… Convict Problems: Chris Brown headed to D.C. in shackles
… Miley Link of the Weekend: Skidmore College Is Offering A Course This Summer Called "The Sociology Of Miley Cyrus"
… Top Gun II Details: Tom Cruise vs. Drones?
… Stranded Romanian dog saved: Yeah, for the puppy
… Do you have the right stuff?: Gwyneth Paltrow ready to consciously couple with another man
… Best Photo Ever: Game of Thrones cast chilling in Croatia
From left to right: Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell), Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne), Indira Varma (Ellaria Sand), Finn Jones (Loras Tyrell), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Conleth Hill (Varys), and Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister).
T-minus six days.
No. 10 - The List: Velvet Underground (Listen Via Spotify)
You asked and you shall receive.
Living the Velvet Underground experience this week was a bit of a new odyssey for me because I can't say that the band has ever been one of my go-to classic rock groups over the years, but after having so many people cite the greatness of Lou Reed and the band, making them the subject of our weekly challenge was probably long overdue.
Seven days later and all of the Velvet Underground work was consumed, as well as quite a bit of the Reed solo stuff. Without wasting any more time, let's get right down to it.
Bonus section (Top 5 Lou Reed solo songs): 1. Walk It and Talk It
Last five songs out: What Goes On
10. Sister Ray
Per Lou Reed: 'Sister Ray' was done as a joke?no, not as a joke?but it has eight characters in it and this guy gets killed and nobody does anything. It was built around this story that I wrote about this scene of total debauchery and decay. I like to think of 'Sister Ray' as a transvestite smack dealer. The situation is a bunch of drag queens taking some sailors home with them, shooting up on smack and having this orgy when the police appear.
9. All Tomorrow's Parties
According to Wikipedia, this was Andy Warhol's favorite song from the group. .
8. Beginning to See The Light
One of two songs from the 1969 album The Velvet Underground on the list.
7. Sweet Jane
One of three songs from the group's final Loaded album on the list.
6. Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
It might not be as experimental as some of the other songs the group has recorded, but it proved to be one of my personal favorites. It's just a great rock song.
5. Rock and Roll
The best song on the group's 1970 album Loaded.
4. Venus in Furs
The Middle Eastern sound that features both John Cale's cacophonous viola as well as Lou Reed's ostrich guitar is wild and perfect for the The Velvet Underground & Nico album, which kind of defines the group.
3. I'm Waiting For The Man
From the group's debut album, the song is about a drug user looking for his drug dealer in Harlem. One of three songs from the The Velvet Underground & Nico album that cracks the top four.
2. Pale Blue Eyes
There's something genuinely tender about this track that makes it stand out from a crowd of possible selections. I've found myself wanting to hear it all week.
1. Heroin
A fairly easy choice for the No. 1 spot, as it represents the best from the group's Andy Warhol days and speaks to the height of their experimental sound in the late 60s.
Archives List
Blues/Jazz: Listen via Spotify )
Classical: Listen via Spotify)
Country: Listen via Spotify )
Electronic: Listen Via Spotify
Funk: Listen Via Spotify (Part II ? After Hours))
Metal: Metallica
Pop: Listen via Spotify )
Punk: Listen via Spotify)
Random: My Number 1's on Spotify
Rap: Listen via Spotify),
R&B: Listen via Spotify)
Reggae: Listen via Spotify)
Rock: Listen via Spotify )
and Listen via Spotify )
This post was edited on 3/30 11:15 PM by Ketchum
