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NCAA needs more schooling on sports, not media
Honestly, the name they gave the enterprise made it sound like the worst idea ever for a theme park ride: The NCAA Enforcement Experience.
And then what? Race on over to Waterboarding for Giggles?
The NCAA’s day-long seminar to explain the process by which violations are investigated and adjudicated didn’t turn out to be torture. It was a well-constructed effort by the NCAA to make its judicial process seem less mysterious, its investigators appear more human.
The NCAA Enforcement Experience wasn’t as enlightening as the mock NCAA Tournament selection exercise introduced in 2007, primarily because the enforcement enterprise always has been easier to understand. But people still manage to misunderstand it, which is why the organization was inspired to conceive this exercise for a roomful of media involved in the coverage of College activities.
The method by which we were taken through the infractions process made it easy to understand. There are two components that are separate but equally important: the full-time employees at the NCAA Enforcement division, who investigate whether a violation has been committed; and the volunteers from the Committee on Infractions who judge the suspected offenders.
This was the story they presented Tuesday:
ENFORCEMENT
The pretend case we evaluated began with a phone call to NCAA headquarters routed to an investigator in the Enforcement division. It came from a young woman who said she’d been the girlfriend of a football player at fictional State U. She claimed she’d witnessed the head coach, Coach Smith, providing a cheat sheet for a group of players in a Sociology of Sports class. Read More >>
Thomas Robinson Overcomes Trying Week to Spark Kansas Over Kansas State
As his world seemed to be spinning out of control in front of him, Kansas College sophomore forward Thomas Robinson longed for normalcy.
He found it Saturday night in the sport he loves. He found it with his Jayhawks teammates. He found it in the comfort of Allen Fieldhouse.
A week after learning his mother, Lisa Robinson, had died and two days after burying her, Robinson returned to his comfort zone Saturday night. It was anything but normal from the outset when 16,300 delivered a standing ovation as Robinson entered the game against Kansas State at the 16:45 mark in the first half.
The Jayhawks fans stood and applauded each time he exited to the bench and they tried as best they could to will every shot Robinson took into the basket.
Such emotion directed at one person might have been draining for most, but for Robinson it was a sign of things finally being right.
“It is beyond amazing and it was a good crowd,” Robinson said. “We have great people all across Kansas. This past month has really opened my eyes to how amazing this place is.
“It’s beyond words to describe how I feel and the love that I have for the University of Kansas and the fans.”
Robinson let his game express how he felt about the outpouring show of support, which included having one of the KU assistants with him every step last week in Washington, D.C. while he carried out the unenviable task of making funeral arrangements for his mother and his entire team being by his side for the funeral Thursday.
Robinson was part of a front court assault that saw Markieff Morris score a game-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Robinson scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in his first game back to help the sixth-ranked Jayhawks in their 90-66 rout of rival Kansas State. As it turns out, while Robinson was grieving his loss, he was also longing to return to basketball.
Friday in practice felt good. Saturday felt even better.
RIP Cal Baseball
Last September, when California chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced that the 2001 season would be the last for the California baseball team, he made no hint or indication of an optimistic outcome. Despite that the fight to save the baseball program goes on. Alumni, parents, school contributors and local business owners have banded together in an effort to save the ailing baseball program reinvigorate its 108-year long traditions.
Although the interest in the program appeared to have decline in recent years, it seems to be experiencing a bit of a resurgence. Even in the face of this support, however, many college officials insist that saving the program would require saving the other doomed sports programs at the school. Even if the money could be raised independently the school administration claims that it’s still out of the question because it would be unfair to the other programs. If Cal is your favorite team then it may be time to find another program who’s college baseball jerseys go with your current Cal-aligned wardrobe.
South Carolina in Celebration For What Accomplishments it Has
If you stand on the 50-yard line at Williams-Brice Stadium and spin around, you won’t see a whole lot of writing on the walls when it comes to team accomplishments. It’s just the way it’s always been for the University of South Carolina’s football program.
The moments of success are fleeting, few and far between. Like a firecracker, they’re vibrant and bright in an instant and gone the next.
The 1984 season is the perfect example: The Gamecocks were 9-0 and ranked No. 2 in the country when a Navy team that went on to win three games upset the season fans had dreamed about, literally, for decades. There’s not been a season to approach it since, especially since the school entered the ultra-demanding, super-competitive Southeastern Conference in 1991.
In the stadium’s south end zone, there’s an almost haunting painted reminder of the team’s only conference title — the 1969 ACC championship. Read More >>
Why Does College Baseball Lack Popularity?
When the College World Series airs on ESPN every year, I’m always a little surprised. I know that it’s baseball season and all, but the World Series is the first time many sports fans ever realize the college baseball season is taking place. This is in stark contrast to the college football and basketball seasons, which are eagerly anticipated and receive a glut of media coverage, even in the offseason.
It’s difficult to tell whether the lack of media coverage is the cause or effect of this disparity, but my personal hypothesis is that the MLB farm system is the reason why we don’t see fans around the country donning NCAA baseball jerseys in the spring and summer. With an extensive network of minor league teams and a draft with over 20 rounds, much of the best talent is snatched up right out of high school, meaning the level of play at the college level suffers. The NFL and NBA lack this type of system for grooming recruits, so athletics at the college level serve to fill the void for these organizations.
A Lightened First Year Draft
“It was great, very great,” Tommy Lasorda said amid photographers after the event. “I can remember when we were preparing ourselves with the Dodgers. Al Campanis and everyone, we had cards we would look at. Now here we are and we’ve got all this technology, we’ve got this kickoff event. Everything is bigger now. This Draft is big and it’s getting bigger.”
Although some were pleased with the overall event ball clubs are searching for that irreplaceable player during high school draft known as baseball’s First Year Players Draft. Unfortunately, all they seem to be finding are “More akin to fool’s gold,” according to two Loyola University Maryland economists.
The average bonus for a high school pitcher is $2.41 million since 2007 which is more than a college baseball pro which is estimated at $2.03 million. Studies have shown that high school starters have a better chance than that of college baseball starters to become part of the MLB. Read More >>
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