il papa's pontifications

This week's il papa's pontifications, perusing all that is objectionable in the sports world.

1. OJ Mayo - The story was broke by ESPN this past Sunday, and you can get a good recap of it here. A main topic on most talk shows this week, about half the people think OJ is at fault, while a surprisingly large % actually see him as a "victim" of the NCAA system that does not pay players, yet profits on them.

This story has sparked discussion about many topics, ranging from the NCAA / professional eligibility rules like the 1 year in college NBA rule, all the way to whether the NCAA should pay players. Since there are so many topics being discussed, here are my main points, packaged and easy to digest:

• OJ Mayo likely broke NCAA rules by accepting cash and gifts from an agent while in high school and college. He might not have known the rules perfectly, but ignorance is not an excuse. Nor is his age, income level, single parent upbringing, or likely "one and done" career. He must be the first person at fault for breaking rules. If we cannot agree that OJ has a large responsibility to follow basic rules of his school/employer/family/his country of residence/whatever, then stop reading and leave my blog now.
  


• Colleges do pay players - they get a $150,000 or more education for free. On top of just the education, many players get $100s of thousands of $$ spent on their teams travel, facilities, meals, etc. Players get unprecedented exposure while they are improving their game for the pros. Colleges offer these players a scholarship in return for their participation, and these players accept, signing a contract, or "letter of intent". The good players could go to Europe and play for a year before going to the NBA if they really wanted $$ and think the one year college rule is so unfair.
  


• College sports makes tons and tons of money - This is the biggest mirage in all of sports. A great article here in the Wall Street Journal discusses college sports budgets. (Interesting note from that article - only 19, yes 19, schools had athletic departments that made money in 2006). Football at major schools, as well as basketball, make plenty of money. Big money. The problem is that most schools have 20 or so other sports programs that lose money. Football and Basketball revenues fund the athletic department, which at most schools lose money. When people say that players should be paid because schools are using them to make $$, thats not a full picture of reality. The money made is for a not for profit organization that is trying to fund its athletic department. Its not going to a few wealthy individuals like business profits might.


• High school players turning Pro right out of high school is a tough call. As a fan, I want them to stay in or go to college. It helps both the NBA improve quality (no 18 year olds using gametime as development time), and the NCAA improve its star power. The NCAA tournament and the Final Four TV ratings were all better because players like Greg Oden, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, and others played for one year in college. But if I were a high school star, ready for the NBA paycheck, I can understand their dislike of the rule. Especially with Tennis, Golf, and Baseball stars all getting paid major $$ well before they are out of high school sometimes. This issue is a tough one by itself, but should not be used as an excuse as to why OJ Mayo took money early from agents.

None of these points above are excuses for OJ Mayo. He broke the rules. Arguing whether the rules are fair or not is another discussion. When will people let persons - not "the system" - take the blame for their own actions?

2. Arlen Spector - Just when it looks like the New England Patriot's "Spygate" scandal is all but finished, Arlen Spector decides to keep running his mouth. I have one question for the Senator from the Keystone state: "WHO CARES!!????" My second question would be "Why does the government need to delve into how the NFL runs things?". What's next, the government trying to regulate my fantasy football league? STAY AWAY.

Video taping other team's signs is wrong. The Patriots did it, were caught and punished, quite heavily I might add. But can this advantage be so great as to warrant all this time we spend talking about it? Would the Patriots have been an average team without these tapes? No way. Its as overrated as stealing signs in my 5th Graders Baseball games - you know whats coming, but still can't stop it. Arlen Spector looks like an older, not as cool version of James Caan. Go away please.

3. Lebron James's Mother - Are you kidding me?





I think I may have seen this once when I was 11, playing in some random game at Willow Road Community Center, likely involving a parent from the BBC (Bartlett-Bolton-Cordova, a triangle of prestige and strip malls). What Gloria James did was ridiculous, but not as funny as this dad:



il papa out

What now?

Notre Dame football is in a very poor position right now, obviously. A few streaming thoughts about the state of our program following a beat down by the Air Force Academy this past Saturday:

1. "Things are never as good or as bad as they seem." Lou Holtz

We have young talent, and more coming in with this recruiting class. A lot of young players need an offseason or two before things "click". I certainly hope that is the case with our talented freshman and sophomore classes. I expect them to get better this offseason, significantly better.

2. Firing Charlie Weis is not an option. Think about it, then move on. Nothing to see here folks. Firing Weis would set back our program 10 years, and dissolve quite possibly the greatest recruiting class in the history of Notre Dame. We inked him to 10 years, and whether we like it or not, we are tied to him as a football program. As he goes, so will we.

3. Jimmy Clausen is improving. Hard to point that out with the state of our offense. Against a subpar Air Force defense, Clausen completed 55% of his passes, which didnt include 5 drops that were WR miscues. He had 260 yards, 3 TDs, and no interceptions or fumbles. At the end of this year, he is starting to look like what we expected. I think he is more poised and accurate than Brady Quinn was at the same age. Above I said that our program is tied to Weis. We are also tied to Jimmy - if he's not playing or not playing well, so will be the state of our program.

4. Weis has messed this season up considerably, and gets the largest slice of the "blame pie". He has been teaching calculus to kids that need addition and subtraction learning. He did not transition his coaching to a style thats better for younger, more inexperienced players.

5. This is only Weis's 4th year as a head coach at any level, and his first with a "young" team. Weis has been served a boat load of the Patriots famed "Humble Pie" this season; lets hope that he has learned and will adapt with all the lessons he hopefully has learned this season. For example, I hope that he realizes that in college football, its more about talent and execution than it is at the pro level, where talent and experience are relatively even. In the pro game, X's and O's are much more important with the playing field more even. Not so in college.

With an easier schedule in 2008 (remove Georgia Tech, Penn St, UCLA, & Air Force, add San Diego St, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, & Syracuse), and young talent that should improve, there is no way Weis shouldnt win 7 games next year. If he doesn't win 7 next year, fire him. That wont happen though, as I think you can take 8-4 or better to the bank next year. Mark it down.

"We're Better than Yall"

Let me start my brief rant with this: I think the SEC is the best, most traditioned and storied conference in the country. It has the most quality teams, the most intense rivalries, and the best fans, period. I have grown up in the south and been around SEC football my whole life, so I can make that statement on steady ground.

But I have also been to stadiums of the Big 10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, and Pac 10. I went to school at an Independent University in football. I have a horse in the race for college football supremacy no doubt, but I also likely have the most unbiased opinion that an average college football fan can have.

Down south especially here in Memphis, my home, all I hear on the radio, as well as in the undertones of conversations with many of my friends is that every team outside of the SEC plays "no one". Also prevalent is that these teams are all "soft". SEC fans criticize every program and conference not of their own and that essentially tells me that they think that college football is no good outside of the SEC. Of course this is a stereotype, but here goes - I think SEC fans are overly confident/delusional and ignorant to college football outside of their world.

A few scrambled notes/thoughts on this topic (pardon my lack of organization):

In this past offseason, you hear "Pac10 is soft" from all USC hating SEC fans, and even from LSU coach Les Miles. I dont hear those people as loudly now with Cal, Oregon, USC, and Arizona St all solid teams performing mostly better than expected.

For all mentions of teams like Michigan, Ohio St, Boston College, USC, Cal, and Penn St - SEC fans will say something bad typically from the following choices:

a.) they have no speed
b.) they play no one
c.) a reference to the Ohio St vs Florida national championship game
d.) a cocktail of the previous 4

People fail to mention that USC, Cal, and Penn St have all embarrassed SEC teams in the past two years, or that the Big Ten is 6-5 against SEC teams over the past 4 years. Excuses follow for all of these counter points, of which many more exist.

My favorite excuse of SEC fans is in response to the USC over Arkansas blowouts in 2005 and 2006 (yes, I know about Trojan beatdowns): "Arkansas wasn't ready last season because they didn't have a QB yet and Mcfadden didn't play." I guess Felix Jones is chopped liver. Also of note is that McFadden was on the bench most of the game because of a bar fight injury. Of course, despite his serious injury, Mcfadden had 9 carries in the game and people forget to mention that also. And I'm sure there is also an excuse for Wisconsin and PJ Hill (200 yards rushing) pounding Arkansas last year in the Capital One Bowl.

On the flip side, Ohio St got embarrassed by Florida in the championship game last year. Embarrassed. And this was a telling game to the country, revealing the ABC overhype of the Ohio St team. The only unfortunate part of that game, is that more fuel was added to the "SEC is better than yall" fire.

That game will be the undertone of what I am predicting now - a Florida vs Ohio St rematch in the national championship game. I will take a hungry Ohio St and the points all day against an overconfident SEC team, much like the 2002 national championship game.

I'm sure within a week Ohio St will lose or Florida will get beat again and my prediction will be moot. Ohio St still has a lot to prove, but they definitely have the easiest road to the championship game of any one team. Oklahoma has an easy road also, assuming someone slips up.

SEC fans fight back against my argument online with a vengeance. My favorite websites with these voices are here, here, and here. Oh, my bad, I guess its the SEC Conferance. But my favorite website is here, the "Old School Nasty" Blog.

There, my rant is done. I guess opinions like this is why college football is king.