Ole Miss wrapped up a disastrous week of hoops with a one-point loss at Georgia Saturday afternoon. The NBA wrapped up the first half of the season with an all-star extravaganza in New Orleans. Still, college football stole the show last week thanks to a sneaky attempt to change the rules of the game, a move that caught several coaches --- including Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze --- off-guard. Here are my thoughts from the week that was:
1. As a kid, I loved The Wizard of Oz.
Even today, when the 1939 classic comes on television, I have a difficult time not watching. The story of Dorothy's treacherous trip down the yellow brick road along with her newfound friends the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion to get to the wizard has stood the test of time and entertained generations.
In the movie, the wizard first appears as a flaming head, obviously an attempt to intimidate Dorothy, her dog and her new friends. They all treat the wizard with trepidation and fearful reverence until they realize the wizard is just a normal man with no real powers.
This past week, college football fans were treated to the sport's version of The Wizard of Oz. I'm not sure who played the role of Dorothy, the Tin Man seeking a heart, the Scarecrow seeking a brain or the Lion seeking courage, but I know with certainty who has earned the role of the wizard.
Meet Nick Saban, who stayed behind the curtain as long as he could while letting Louisiana-Monroe coach Todd Berry, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun and an NCAA committee propose a rule designed to slow down the hurry-up, no-huddle (HUNH) offenses that are becoming so popular all over college football, including at Ole Miss.
Proponents of the college football rule proposal to give defenses 10 seconds before each play to substitute players have said that the change has player safety in mind.
However, an NCAA rules committee member says that there's "not really much hard data" supporting the player safety angle.
"I think it's fair to say it's one of those things that's been growing," committee member Rogers Redding told CBS Sports Saturday, "It hasn't been a huge surge. It's kind of one those things that was floating in the background and it kind of came to a head. ...I think it's fair to say there's not really much hard data on this."
No, Rogers, there's no data. None. There's no study. Safety is such a topic (and deservedly so, mind you) in football circles these days that if any academician had conducted a legitimate study with certifiable conclusions, he or she would need a team of agents and publicists to handle the media requests. There's been no study.
Instead, college football's Wizard of Oz and a handful of his minions have hid behind their giant curtain, strategized a bit and come up with a possible way to regain a competitive advantage all the while hiding behind the premise of protecting players.
"Coaching is a brotherhood and a noble profession," Washington State coach Mike Leach said. "I would hope there are not those in our business who would sneak behind everyone else's back and try to get something passed without the others in the profession having the opportunity to be heard."
Too late, matey. If the Wizard, er, Saban, has his way, in addition to defenses getting 10 seconds to sub, offenses would be prohibited from snapping the ball with more than 29 seconds remaining on the play clock. That means the play clock would have to run at least 11 seconds before a play, lest the offense risk a penalty.
"We coach a dangerous game," Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said last week during an appearance on Paul Finebaum's radio show. "There's no way around it. I don't think you can ever put your kids in a position where there's not a risk. We all understand that. I've coached high school, small college and now here in the SEC, and the safety of our players is always a priority. I don't know any coach who that's not on their mind."
This year is a "non-change" year in the NCAA. In order to implement change, there must be documented evidence and data that proves changes are made with the safety of the student-athlete in mind and "not because it doesn't feel right to one side or the other," Freeze said.
"There's a lot of things we could discuss, like the cut blocks in certain offenses," Freeze said. "They're not safe, but they're part of the game right now. So the safety of our players is the priority, but I've yet to see any data and I just don't think that it's there. If it is, I'd love to see it and I'd love to hear who presented that data to the committee. Their answer to me when I spoke to some of the committee members was, 'Well, it's just kind of common sense.' My response to that was, 'Well, there are some other things that are common sense also but we're not attacking those.' Now in our league we're going to be playing a rotation of new defensive linemen probably every three plays if this passes. That's not going to be safe for the offensive line. I think it's very advantageous and a competitive advantage for them to be able to do that, particularly the teams that are deeper in talent."
Freeze has been diplomatic. He and others in his profession are frustrated as hell and probably angry enough to bite nails in two, but Freeze is a nice guy who is above slinging mud. However, it's obvious that Saban and others are --- for lack of a better word --- scared of what Gus Malzahn did at Auburn last season and cognizant of the fact that HUNH coaches such as Freeze and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin are going to become more and more difficult to handle as they accumulate talent.
One of the main proponents of the change is Arkansas coach Bret Bielema. He's pitched similar ideas before, and Bielema was in attendance at the NCAA rules committee meetings this week in Indianapolis. Bielema doesn't have voting privileges on the rules committee, though SI.com reported that both Bielema and Saban were in attendance during the discussion about the rule change. Saban has also been critical of up-tempo offenses in the past and has used the "player safety" angle before.
"This could be my fault," Freeze said. "Maybe I should've known it was going to be brought up in this committee meeting in Indianapolis. I don't know. I might have missed it, but I would love to know who the presenters were and did someone from our side of the table get to express our concerns that have spread throughout the membership. These decisions affect livelihoods."
Freeze is among coaches --- Arizona's Rich Rodriguez, Leach, Malzahn, Sumlin and others included --- who believe tempo is a way to counter opponents who are better able to accumulate talent (read: Alabama) on the recruiting trail. Last season Arkansas was 121st out of 125 FBS teams in plays per game. Alabama was 116th.
"It's obvious where Coach Saban stands on the issue," Freeze told Finebaum. "It's obvious where people on our side of the table stand."
Saban is a dynamic recruiter. While he failed miserably in his stint with the NFL's Miami Dolphins (where, it should be noted, the playing field is much more level than it ever will be in the college ranks), his status as a legendary college coach can't be challenged. He won a national title at LSU and has claimed multiple titles at Alabama. He did it by accumulating more talent than his opponents. Against HUNH teams, however, that talent surplus can't be utilized as easily. To date, he hasn't figured out a way to stop it. So rather than getting in the film room or scheming on the white board, Saban, Bielema and others are hoping the NCAA's Playing Rules Oversight Panel does their work for them on March 6.
"College football is constantly evolving," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "Coaches have to make adjustments based on their team their talents and their opponents. The 10-second rule is like asking basketball to take away the shot clock --- boring. It's like asking a blitzing linebacker to raise his hand. Why change our sport at the peak of its popularity?"
Gundy couldn't have said it better. He's right. College football has never been more popular than it is today. The next 18 days or so will be fascinating to watch. Will the wizard continue to terrify Dorothy, Toto and her friends? Or will the curtain get pulled back and reveal the wizard as a scared old man horrified at the thought of his powers disappearing before his very eyes?
2. Ole Miss lost at Georgia Saturday, giving up a free throw in the final two seconds of a 61-60 loss, one that capped a horrific week that did major damage to the Rebels' NCAA tournament hopes. I could use this spot to dissect what went wrong in Tuscaloosa and Athens (poor shooting, terrible shot selection, missed free throws, inexplicable rebounding woes, etc.), but the bottom line is this: If Ole Miss is going to make an NCAA tournament run of any sort, it has to get better right now.
"I said this early on," Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said after Saturday's loss. "We're going to be in a lot of close games. We're not going to blow people out and if we continue to fight, not many people, unless we just get overmatched, are going to blow us out. (Saturday) was a perfect case. We were down eight late in the half and it would've been easy to fold up and move forward, but our guys continued to battle, had some opportunities, had some shots go down for us, made some plays defensively and kept us in the game. Then it comes down to making a play."
Truer words… Georgia's Kenny Gaines hit a late 3-pointer. It was a big-time shot, but it never should have happened. Ole Miss got a stop on the possession, but the Rebels couldn't corral the rebound. Good teams don't give up second or third shots late. Ole Miss did. Jarvis Summers answered with a conventional 3-point play to tie things at 60-60, but the Rebels committed a foul (I'm avoiding an adjective here) that put the Bulldogs on the line with less than two seconds left.
"You can't get out-rebounded by 15," Kennedy said. "You can't give up 20 second-chance points. You don't deserve to win. We did not deserve to win. Not many coaches will tell you that. Not many coaches will tell their team that. I just did. We didn't deserve to win at Alabama. We didn't deserve to win (at Georgia) because we're not putting ourselves in position. We're not paying the price to succeed. If we don't the result won't change.
"You've got to make layups. You've got to make free throws on the road. It sounds simple. We did neither."
It's become a habit for Ole Miss, a team which has now lost multiple games (Oregon, Dayton, Mercer, Alabama, Georgia come to mind) in which the Rebels failed to make a play late and then succumbed to a team that did capitalize on last-chance opportunities. Ole Miss committed just three turnovers at Georgia. Three! However, the Rebels can't make shots and can't protect the glass. If Ole Miss ends up not in the NCAA tournament field in 28 days, that will be the inscription on this team's gravestone. It will be, as Kennedy said, "inexplicable."
Kennedy was asked late Saturday about the week ahead, one that includes a Tuesday night home date against Kentucky and a Saturday morning tilt with Florida. His thoughts were still on the missed opportunity in Athens, but the answer was interesting on multiple levels.
"I'll be sick," Kennedy said. "I won't be able to eat, sleep, drink, think for about 48 hours, but by the time these guys get to the bus, they'll be fine."
3. Kentucky heads to Oxford on Tuesday on the heels of a disappointing loss to Florida Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Losing to the nation's third-ranked team isn't unconscionable or anything of the sort. However, given the belief that most of this Kentucky team is one-and-gone after this season, Saturday night had to be sobering for John Calipari and his young team.
As Rivals.com's Brett Dawson wrote Saturday night, the Gators are running roughshod over the SEC the way Kentucky was projected to in the preseason.
And when Saturday's game was on the line, the Gators took that, too, grabbing key rebounds and making clutch plays that eluded the Wildcats (19-6 overall, 9-3 in the SEC) down the stretch.
"They've been together for a while," said UK freshman James Young, who had 19 points. "And I think that's what got them the win."
As Dawson wrote, the easy narrative is to say Florida's experience trumped Kentucky's talent. Sometimes there's a reason narratives are so easy. On this night, it was the game's no-brainer storyline.
Florida got two critical three-point plays in the second half from senior Patric Young. Another senior, Casey Prather, scored 24 points and hauled in a crucial offensive rebound with 1:27 to play and his team leading by five. A third senior, Scottie Wilbekin, scored 18 of his 23 points in a second half in which Florida outscored UK 41-28.
"I'm not happy," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "We lost to a good team. But we had our chances and we're not ready to win that kind of game, and I told them that."
There are six games to play in the regular season, prompting Dawson to wonder, "Do the Wildcats have time to get ready to beat a team like Florida?"
"I think so," freshman Julius Randle said. "I think we were prepared enough to win this game. We just had breakdowns down the stretch."
The Cats had them in all areas
Though UK shot 47.6 percent in the game and 45 percent in the second half, it managed only four field goals in the final 11 minutes of play. Defensively, UK was even worse, allowing at least a point on each of Florida's last 13 possessions, a streak during which the Gators scored 2.38 points per possession.
That helped Florida erase a seven-point deficit with 11:11 to play in the game.
"No one has ever won the game with eleven minutes left," Patric Young said. "We stuck with our guns, kept playing basketball and got it done."
From Dawson: "Kentucky's young guns couldn't quite do it. The stops never came. The shots didn't fall.
"I just feel like we didn't make enough plays," said Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison, who led the Cats with 20 points. "If we weren't ready to win, we never would have had a chance. It's just really two or three plays in the game that made a difference."
A year ago, Florida wasn't equipped to make those plays. It went scoreless here for the final 7½ minutes in losing to a young Kentucky team. But these are more grizzled Gators. Their seniors have lost in three straight NCAA Elite Eights.
"I think it makes a difference," Harrison said. "I mean, they're a great team."
Kentucky was supposed to be one.
The question is whether it still can.
Though the Wildcats look like safe NCAA Tournament bets --- the loss dropped UK to 3-3 against RPI Top 50 teams --- they don't appear to be title contenders. And time is running out to get there.
"Yeah," James Young said. "So we definitely got to click real fast and just listen to what Cal is saying."
What he was saying Saturday is that he liked the way his team gave itself chances to win, even if it couldn't seize those opportunities.
"I'm proud of the guys," Calipari said. "I'm happy how they fought. High level game, a lot of intensity to the game. Lot of hype to the game, and we performed. They put themselves in a position to win. Five minutes to go, if we make two free throws, we're down two, you know, you're right where you want to be."
At the end, the Gators were where they wanted to be. This current crop of Florida players got its first win at Kentucky, matched a school record with its 17th straight win and moved a step close to an all-but-assured regular-season SEC title by moving three games ahead of UK in the race.
And is Kentucky where it wants to be, where it thought it would be on Feb. 16 when the season started?
"I can't really say," Harrison said. "Anybody can say that they hoped for us to be undefeated or whatever. But people don't understand how much hard work it is to put together a team that had never played with each other before. And no one on this team is selfish. Everyone just wants to prove themselves, just like any young person trying to get a job or trying to prove themselves in their career."
Regardless of where Kentucky thought it would be, Harrison believes the Cats have time to get where they want to be. UK can't get Florida's experience, but Harrison thinks his team can offset that weakness.
"Because we have so much talent and fight," he said. "A lot of people think we're just selfish, but we all love each other, and we all hurt. No one hurts more than the other. We lost. We're gonna go to the drawing board and get ready for our game on Tuesday."
That game at Ole Miss should be fascinating. For the Rebels, it's an opportunity to change momentum quickly. If Ole Miss goes 0-2 this week, it's over, barring a repeat SEC tournament title. If the Rebels beat Kentucky, there's a path. Kentucky, meanwhile, will be hard-pressed to be mentally sharp for Ole Miss. The Wildcats blew out the Rebels in the second half less than two weeks ago and will likely be hung over a bit from the hype leading up to the showdown with Florida.
Further, all rhetoric aside, Kentucky realized a harsh reality Saturday night. The Wildcats, a team assembled to win a national title on talent alone, aren't going to fulfill that dream. Calipari's challenge now is to keep his kids focused on the present and not on the millions of dollars awaiting them in mere months. Calipari's model of assembling one-and-done talent is flawed; that much was obvious Saturday night in Lexington. He's a remarkable coach, but his work is cut out for him Tuesday night and for the remainder of the season.
4. Then there's Florida, a team that is emerging as my pick to win the national title. When I watch the Gators, I see a team with multiple weapons and no exploitable flaws. My opinion, however, isn't worth much.
Pat Dooley's does. Dooley has been with the Gainesville Sun as long as I can remember. He covers the Gators with a cool head, and that's probably why so many current and former Florida coaches treat him with such respect. On Saturday, as Florida prepared for Saturday's showdown at Kentucky, Dooley heaped some lofty praise on Billy Donovan's current club, comparing it to a couple of Florida teams from a few years back. The Gators of this year aren't as talented as the group that featured Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer and others, but when Dooley compares this year's team to that group that claimed back-to-back titles, I take note.
From Dooley:
"Let me start this out by saying I would never equate a two-time national championship team with one that has yet to make a Final Four.
OK? Do we have the caveat ? a big one ? out of the way?
As I watch this Florida basketball team play, I can't help but compare it to the 2004 greatest class of players at UF. Maybe the four seniors on this team need a catchy nickname. The Oh-Tens?
The four seniors who have carried this team to 22 wins, an 11-0 conference record and a No. 3 national ranking heading into Saturday night's hornet's nest at Kentucky have the same kind of chemistry as the players who ? as sophomores and juniors ? took Florida to the land of confetti rain. These guys have the guts, they have the clutch genes and they have the moxie.
They are nowhere near as talented. There won't be three first-round draft picks in this group. I'm not sure how many of them will even play at the next level, let alone be All-Stars.
But there are similarities.
"The basketball IQs of the (Oh-Fours) was at a different level," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "They were so smart on offense. I think this team is willing to do that. We go through some droughts sometimes.
"But this group has worked at building close relationships. They've worked at building a better bond."
As Donovan pointed out to me, when you have a program that has one standard-bearing group in its history, the success of every other team at that program will be compared to it.
"It's just the way it is," he said.
That's why he was asked the question on a national radio show Thursday. But that was a blind question you would expect from someone who can't name the first guy off the bench for Florida.
I gave it waaayyy more thought.
Well, I gave it some thought. And it may be ridiculous. But it's my column and I'm sticking to it.
What Donovan has often talked about is how he never knows how a group of kids will mesh, how the dynamics of their personalities will blend. But maybe he has discovered a formula.
Start with the point guard. Don't worry about what the recruiting services say. Go get a guy you know will be tough, a guy who will make the shots when you need them and make free throws down the stretch. Go find a guy who can be a leader without being loud, and make sure he's the kind of guy you want with the ball in his hands with the game on the line.
Go find Taurean Green. Or Scottie Wilbekin.
On to small forward. Go find a kid in Tennessee. Find an unassuming young man with the long arms of an octopus and a penchant for defense. Find a guy who cares about his teammates and the name on the front of the jersey.
Go find Corey Brewer. Or Casey Prather.
Let's get a power forward. Of course, where else would you look but at a player with a background in France? And weird hair?
Go find Joakim Noah. Or Will Yeguete.
And let's get a center who is a physical specimen, who will battle for loose balls and have a deft touch around the basket.
Go find Al Horford. Or Patric Young.
And then convince these two groups that it's not important how many points you score, it's important how many points WE score. And more importantly, how many WE allow.
Oh, and it also helps if you can find an deadeye 3-point shooter from another class. The Oh-Fours had Lee Humphrey, this group has Michael Frazier II.
Of course, if it was so simple, everyone would do it.
And the comparison ends when we think about the Oh-Fours blossoming as sophomores and the Oh-Tens waiting until they were seniors. And, again, I would never equate Noah's offensive skills and Yeguete's or the champions' 3-point shooting with this team's or Horford's skills to Young's.
And the Oh-Fours became the greatest class in Florida history and one of the best in the history of the sport.
But they also have this in common.
The Oh-Fours came along when Florida had been bumped from the NCAA Tournament on the first weekend for four straight years, got knocked out themselves in the second round as mostly back-up players and then won 12 straight NCAA games, 18 overall in a row in the postseason. The Oh-Tens came along when Florida had played only one NCAA game in the previous three seasons and have won nine NCAA games with one more season to go.
The Oh-Fours made Florida basketball elite. The Oh-Tens helped save Florida basketball from dropping into a black hole.
Maybe it's a stretch. Maybe it's just a column. Or maybe we're watching something special again."
Florida heads to Oxford on Saturday. The Gators aren't nearly as star-studded as the Kentucky team that will roll into Tad Smith Coliseum on Tuesday, but remember this when you're watching: Defense wins championships, and you just might be watching a champion when you're watching the Gators.
5. Ole Miss swept Stetson to open the season this weekend in Deland, Fla. I didn't see a pitch. My colleague and friend, Chase Parham, did. Here are his thoughts from the weekend:
"Ole Miss blasted Stetson by a combined score of 26-3 over the weekend to get 2014 off to a hot start. The Hatters aren't a likely NCAA Tournament team and are picked in the middle of the Atlantic Sun but they aren't as bad as the Rebels made them look either.
For Mike Bianco's club it was a hell of a first effort, as there was a lot of good and little bad from the time in Deland, Fla. The newcomers got some confidence, some roles took a step toward being established and the veterans did what was hoped for through three games.
I mentioned on the message board that Will Allen, Preston Overbey and Sikes Orvis need to free swing and drive in runs, no matter what the batting averages look like. There are some contact guys in the lineup, but these three veterans have to provide the pop in the middle of the order. Combined against Stetson, the trio went 14-of-34 with five home runs, two doubles, 15 RBI and seven runs scored. Allen was especially hot, as he went 6-of-11 with two home runs and 10 RBI. The Rebels have six home runs through three games. They had just 23 all of last season.
You have to love what Ole Miss got out of its starting pitching this weekend. Chris Ellis walked just two and allowed four hits in six innings. He didn't give up the gap ball when trouble was on the bases, and he located his fastball extremely well. Trent allowed one run on three hits in six innings during his debut, and Sam Smith tossed five shutout frames including getting out of a bases loaded, no outs jam with a strikeout and double play.
Freshman Wyatt Short threw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts while running his fastball around 90 from the left side. If he can keep a secondary pitch consistent, there's a definite role for him in the bullpen.
The Ole Miss pitching staff had really good control over the weekend. As a group, here are the total pitches and strikes from the three days.
89/128
79/117
87/140
Total: 385/255
That's 66 percent and is pulled down from 70 percent after the first two days. Closer Aaron Greenwood, who normally is extremely efficient, was 27 strikes in 44 pitches over two innings. Ellis was especially good with 61 strikes in 87 pitches.
Errol Robinson was fantastic defensively this weekend. Three web gems highlighted it, but he made the routine plays, as well. Those are what you want to continue to see. He also hit .400 for the weekend. I want to see what happens when scouting reports get out a little bit.
Leadoff hitter Braxton Lee had no strikeouts in 12 plate appearances. That works.
The power numbers from others overshadow a great weekend from Auston Bousfield. After a sophomore slump, he started his junior year with a 7-of-11 weekend with 11 total bases, two doubles and a triple. He scored six times. Great numbers out of the two-hole, and he must be good offensively for the Rebels to reach their potential.
Other than Greenwood, the Ole Miss bullpen was great, allowing no runs in eight innings."
6. Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin was subjected to "a pattern of harassment" that included racial slurs and vicious sexual taunts about his mother and sister by three teammates, according to a report released Friday by NFL investigator Ted Wells.
The 144-page report said Richie Incognito, who was suspended by the team in November, and fellow offensive linemen/former Ole Miss standout John Jerry and Mike Pouncey harassed Martin. Another offensive lineman and an assistant trainer also routinely came under attack, the investigation found. Neither was named in the report.
Martin's agent, Kenneth Zuckerman, said his client feels "vindicated" by the report and plans to resume his football career.
"He feels a great sense of relief," Zuckerman told SI.com. "Jonathan Martin is a great man, and he's only shown me that he is very honest since the day I met him. He loves football and is eager to get back on the field, regardless of what team he plays for."
Incognito's attorney, Mark Schamel, released a statement saying Wells' report was "replete with errors" and said Martin "was never bullied by Richie Incognito or any member of the Dolphins' offensive line."
Wells said his inquiry found Martin was taunted and ridiculed almost daily. After Martin left the team in October, Incognito boasted about "breaking Jmart" in a notebook the linemen used to tally fines and bonuses among themselves. When the investigation began, Incognito asked another player to destroy the book, but investigators obtained it. The other harassed player was "subjected to homophobic name-calling and improper physical touching," while the assistant trainer, who was born in Japan, was subjected to racial slurs.
"It was not difficult to conclude that the assistant trainer and Player A were harassed, but the questions raised in Martin's case were more complex, nuanced and difficult," the report said.
In the case of Player A, the report said, Dolphins offensive line coach Jim Turner "was aware of the running 'joke' that Player A was gay, and on at least one occasion, he participated in the taunting."
"Around Christmas 2012, Coach Turner gave the offensive linemen gift bags that included a variety of stocking stuffers. The gifts included inflatable female dolls for all of the offensive linemen except Player A, who received a male 'blow-up' doll," the report said.
"According to Incognito, Player A was a 'good kid' who 'took it well' and never told his teammates to stop. In Incognito's eyes, jokes about Player A's sexuality were all harmless fun."
Incognito ranted at Martin on Twitter on Wednesday, telling him, "The truth is going to bury you and your entire 'camp'. You could have told the truth the entire time." Eight days earlier, Incognito tweeted that he supported Martin "100 percent in his return to football in 2014."
The 6-foot-5, 312-pound Martin abruptly left the team Oct. 28. He was briefly hospitalized, and then joined his family in California and underwent counseling for emotional issues. Incognito expressed regrets about the racial and profane language he used with Martin but said it stemmed from a culture of locker-room "brotherhood," not bullying.
Martin has said he tried to be friends with Incognito, a common defense mechanism used by those being bullied. Martin and Incognito traded more than 1,000 text messages in a year's span, and the teasing and vulgar banter went both ways, with references to sex, drugs, violence and bawdy behavior.
Personally, I've been dismayed and disgusted by the general public's urge to defend Incognito. The NFL is professional football, and every player has the right to expect to be able to work out in a professional environment. The boys-will-be-boys defense doesn't excuse Incognito's behavior. Neither does the this-is-football-not-the-boy-scouts defense others try to implement.
Martin is an offensive lineman in a violent game, but that doesn't remotely excuse the harassment he endured at the hands of Incognito, Jerry and Pouncey. Don't take my word for it, though. Instead, read the words of former Washington and Denver offensive lineman Mark Schlereth, who penned an excellent column for ESPN.com Saturday, one that should be a must-read for everyone who ever enters a locker room --- or has a pulse.
7. Yahoo.com's Sam Cooper reported late last week the overall structure of college athletics is going to change. Citing an ESPN report, Cooper reported the plans could be in place by August.
Here's the ESPN.com report:
"The overall structure of college athletics is going to change, and according to a report from ESPN, changes could be put into place as soon as August.
A seven-member committee with the NCAA's Division I Board of Directors hopes to provide "a range" of autonomy ? including "the freedom to provide athletes the full cost of scholarships" ? said Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch, the board's chair.
Hatch told ESPN that he is confident that change will be imminent.
"We're not talking about full autonomy. We're talking about a range of issues," Hatch said. "Membership can vote it down, but this has been a huge process. The board last fall had a whole day of hearings. We've talked to coaches, students, athletic directors, big schools, small schools, the Knight Commission, faculty-athletic representatives, and I think we can craft a compromise that makes the board more nimble, more strategic, in some ways more like a confederation that allows big schools certain ways to expend some of their new revenue on behalf of student-athletes."
Another focal point of the committee's discussions has been to make university athletic directors be more "directly and heavily involved in the NCAA's rule-making," instead of university presidents and chancellors.
"There's been kind of a retreat of fundamental involvement by the athletic directors, who are the people on our campuses who make all of this work," Hatch said. "We've been engaged heavily with them in this process and they have been very responsive. To give them a more integral role in NCAA governance is critical."
The new structure would give the larger conferences added flexibility, but Hatch said that the committee is still deciding the level of flexibility and what things will be under autonomy."
In my opinion, this is where student-athletes should be focusing their energies, not on getting "paid" for their involvement in high-revenue sports. Their scholarship should indeed cover the full cost of school. Unlike the stipend issue, one that is wrought with problems and all sort of legalities (not to mention tax issues), this is a battle worth fighting and one that virtually all sides agree on.
8. Derek Jeter probably could have stuck around long enough to make a run at Pete Rose's all-time hits record. Maybe his body, one that has begun to fail him the past couple of years, would have held up better at third base or as a designated hitter. He could have limped toward Rose's record as a shell of himself and the Yankees would have had no real choice but to let him.
Jeter isn't wired that way, of course, so last week he announced this season would be his final one as the Yankees' captain. He'll play his final regular season games in late September in Boston, and I'm already making sure I'll have the tissues ready.
I'm not a Yankees fan (my grandfather, B.J. Neal, was, but for some reason, I prefer pain and suffering and I chose the Cubs), but I've long admired Jeter for everything he's about. Jeter, 39, announced his decision on Facebook (BREAKING: Facebook finally served a purpose other than allowing people to lie about how happy they are), surprising almost everyone inside the Yankees' organization.
Jeter has led the Yankees to five World Series championships. They have missed the postseason just twice in his career. He's the all-time leader in playoff hits and runs and ranks third in home runs. His 3,316 hits rank 10th all-time, and a mere 120-hit season in 2014 would vault him to fifth. And he is the longest-tenured captain in the franchise's long and storied history.
More importantly, Jeter didn't cheat. He was never the subject of scandal. When his power left him, he reinvented his game while others shot HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs into their buttocks. Jeter dated supermodels and movie stars, yet the paparazzi never caught him in an embarrassing predicament.
There's no one --- not in New York or anywhere else in Major League Baseball --- ready to assume Jeter's role. He's a sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Fame selection. In many ways, Jeter has been the face of a sport searching for an identity in the aftermath of an embarrassing era. As USA Today's Bob Nightengale wrote, Jeter was the classiest superstar to ever play the game.
If his body will hold up one more summer, he'll go out on his own terms. It should be a spectacular farewell, as Jeter is beloved throughout the sport. He'll leave a massive void in his wake. The Yankees --- and all of baseball --- will miss him greatly.
9. The NBA All-Star Game was played Sunday night in New Orleans, a shootout (read: No defense at all) won by the East, 163-155. Here are my thoughts from the week that was in the NBA:
A. Houston center Dwight Howard became the first player to compete in three consecutive All-Star Games representing three teams. Howard played in the 2012 as a representative of the Orlando Magic and last season as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Unlike the past two seasons, when Howard was embattled and the subject of great criticism, Howard is happy these days, playing for a Houston team that enters the second half just two games out of the second seed in the Western Conference, winners of seven straight games.
"He really doesn't care what people say," Rockets guard James Harden told the Houston Chronicle. "He's Dwight Howard. He's going to do what he's going to do regardless. The most important thing that he wants to do is win. Whether he's joking around, dancing, he wants to just be himself and win basketball games."
B. New NBA commissioner Adam Silver has publicly stated he's an advocate of raising the minimum age for league eligibility from 19 to 20. Asked recently by USA Today if he thought that change would be implemented, he said:
"It's hard to tell. I never quite understood the player opposition. Of course it's a zero sum game in terms of numbers of jobs, and amount of salary we pay out. We pay out roughly 50% of BRI (basketball-related income), and that's divided among the players in the league. So there is absolutely, and by definition can't be, a financial savings to us by increasing the age to 20. It has been our belief that we have a better chance to grow the (financial) pie that gets divided 50-50 if we increase the age and create, in essence, a more competitive league. And it has been our sense for a long time that our draft would be more competitive if our teams had an opportunity to see these players play an additional year, whether it be in college or professionally in the Development League or overseas.
"We believe the additional year of maturity would be meaningful. And increasingly, I've been told by many NBA coaches that one of the issues with the younger guys coming into the league is they've never had an opportunity to lead. By having come directly out of their first year of college, those are the moments in their lives where…they were put in positions as upper classmen, where they first learned how to lead teammates. And ultimately, if you look at our most successful teams, they're successful because they play as a team and I think that's one of the beauties of this game is that it's such an interesting mix of team play and at the same time individual (skill).
"A team plays together with individual attributes. It's that blend that teams are always constantly trying to achieve, the perfect blend. Again though, it's one of those issues (where) it needs to be collectively bargained, and for good reason. It's something that during collective bargaining the last time, we had lots of discussions about it with the group of players who were representing the union at the time and I think it's something that we should continue to discuss. Let me just throw in that at the same time, I think maybe, just to broaden my horizons a little bit, I'm trying to look at it not just from the perspective of the NBA because I believe strong college basketball is also beneficial to the NBA and to the game generally. So even if it's not terrible for the NBA right now, at least talking to a lot of my college coaching friends and college (athletic director) friends, their view is (that) one and done is a disaster. I think this is one of these issues that the larger basketball community needs to come together and address, not just the NBA owners and our players. Youth basketball and college basketball should have a seat at the table as well."
C. Silver, 51, has already felt pressure from the citizens and business leaders of Seattle, a community eager for an NBA franchise after losing the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City, where they have since been renamed the Thunder.
"Seattle is a wonderful market. It would be very additive to the league to have a team there," Silver told ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. "But we're not planning on expanding right now so it's not a function of price."
One possible reason for sticking with 30 teams is because any more would dilute the money each team will get from a new TV deal when the current agreement ends in 2016, Windhorst reports. Silver, however, is more worried about the talent pool diluting.
"I, and the owners, will look at not only dilution of economic opportunities with one more partner to divide national and international money but also dilution of talent," Silver said. "Right now are already making comments about the (Eastern Conference), so is the ideal time to be adding another 15 or 30 players to the league? Ultimately I'm responsible for the financial and competitive health of a 30-team league and while we made tremendous strides in the last collective bargaining agreement, we're still not there yet. We don't have 30 profitable teams in the NBA and while we've made progress, there are still teams that aren't competitive enough."
D. Reports surfaced last week that the Oklahoma City Thunder are interested in signing former NBA sharpshooter Rudy Fernandez, who most recently helped lead Real Madrid to the Spanish Cup. Fernandez, who averaged 9.1 points per game in four seasons with Portland and Denver, is likely looking for mid-level exception money (around $4 million) in a deal to come state-side. The Thunder have two mid-level exceptions at their disposal, so signing Fernandez is possible. However, Fernandez's acquisition would push the Thunder past the tax threshold. Just know this about Oklahoma City: The Thunder enter the second half of the season with a league-best 43-12 mark and they're a sure thing to make a major acquisition soon. A fellow named Russell Westbrook will be joining the Thunder in the next couple of weeks, making them even more dangerous as the playoffs near.
10. Years ago, I engaged my radio colleague at WNSP, Mark Heim, in a months-long debate about what the New Orleans Saints should do with the second pick in the NFL draft. Heim, a lifelong Saints fan from New Orleans, argued New Orleans should nab Virginia offensive tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson. I assumed the Houston Texans would take USC running back Reggie Bush and argued the Saints should trade the pick --- unless, of course, the Texans took anyone on earth not named Bush, at which point, I said, the Saints should take Bush before the commissioner finished announcing the Texans' selection.
Years later, I'm dying to have a radio show in Houston. The Texans have the first pick in this spring's draft and there's no clear-cut No. 1 pick. Houston has a number of options, including South Carolina defensive end Jadaveon Clowney, but the Texans' quandary is the stuff that shapes a franchise --- whether or not to take Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
Manziel upped the ante a bit this week when he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he very much wants to play for the Texans.
"They have the first pick," Manziel told the Star-Telegram. "I want them to say absolutely, without a doubt, with 100 percent certainty, that I'm who they want. I want everybody from the janitor at Reliant Stadium to the front-office executive assistant all the way up to (Texans owner) Bob McNair to say that this kid is 100 percent, can't miss, this is who we want being the face of our program. We want the Texas kid staying in Texas and leading the Texans."
As the Star-Telegram wrote Sunday, an A&M booster bought a billboard in Houston ? "Keep Johnny Football in Texas" ? supporting that sentiment. Houston attorney Tony Buzbee also created a website ? draftjohnnymanziel.com ? and has more than 3,000 signatures on a petition encouraging the Texans to draft Manziel.
Manziel has heard about the billboard, and though he hasn't signed the petition, he shares the website's message to Texans owner Bob McNair: "Don't blow it Bob ? Draft Johnny!"
If the Texans select someone else, Manziel expects to end up in Jacksonville with the third choice. Cleveland drafts fourth.
"It would be the worst decision they've ever made," Manziel told the Star-Telegram, addressing the possibility of the Texans passing on him. "I'd be in the same division playing against them twice a year. Sorry, but you just turned that chip on my shoulder from a Frito into a Dorito."
Manziel told the Star-Telegram he began his makeover on Jan. 10 in San Diego when he began training with his long-time personal quarterbacks coach, George Whitfield. Manziel has changed the way he grips the football. He's also working to get a new grip on his personality.
"I'm trying to show people that I've grown up, and I've learned from my experiences," Manziel told the Star-Telegram. "I always feel like if you continue to make the same wrong decisions, continue to do that, that's just not what I was raised on. That's not the right thing to do. I feel like you're a stupid person if you continue to make the same wrong decision over and over again.
"I was a kid who made some goofball decisions. That's been part of my journey. Maybe it's part of the whole Johnny Football deal that I'm trying to get away from. I feel like if I don't put myself in any of those situations, then I can't get blamed for it. If I'm not in the neighborhood, and I'm in the house, nothing can be said about me.
"I want to own up to that. I don't want to hear that, 'Oh, anybody in his situation would have been doing the same thing.' I'm 100 percent responsible for my actions. I made those goofball decisions knowingly. I got the consequences that come for it. Just like you make any decision in life, you have your pros and your cons for what's going to happen. I live with that. I've tried to move on from it and tried distance myself as best as possible."
Those words just ratchet up the pressure on the Texans. If they take Manziel and he busts, they'll be forever ridiculed for bowing to the in-state pressure to draft the home-state kid. However, if the Texans don't select Manziel and he becomes an iconic star elsewhere, that's the stuff that haunts a franchise for decades.
I wouldn't want to be the decision-makers in the Texans' front office these days. But oh, what I would give to have an afternoon drive-time show in Houston right now. Open phone lines, sit back and fan the flames of debate. I used to call such debates "free radio." It's never been more free than it is in Houston right now.
This post was edited on 2/17 7:00 AM by Neal McCready
Schlereth on Incognito
