NCAA Actually Gets Something Right

Huge win for everyone really, here. For once common sense prevailed in an issue involving the NCAA. Players can now get a realistic draft grade and make an informed decision about whether or not to enter the draft.

While kids will still be forced to sit out a year following high school, the NCAA isn't at fault on that one. That is the NBA Player's association's. They're the ones that have mandated that rule.

Is there any other profession in America where you're legally prevented from profiting of your skill set because of age? Sports is the only one that comes to mind. It's the only profession where you are bound from capitalizing on your talent. It's unamerican really...

Regardless, everyone wins on this front (minus the kids that are talented enough to be NBA players straight from high school). NBA talent evaluators are very honest in their opinions, so by offering kids the ability to go not only to the combine but also try out for an NBA team while still giving them the ability to go back to school if the grade isn't up to par, everyone wins. If a kid enters the draft and falls, that's on him.

The only possible concern is that now some schools might be hung out to dry with a current player's testing the waters, but basketball recruiting is usually completed a year in advance so most team's will no where they stand with their own kid. Also, most teams will be willing to wait for a kid that has legitimate NBA ability versus trying to find a roster filler at the last second.

Give credit where credit is due, the NCAA got this one right.

Good to see Dan Hawkins getting his name back out there

Source - An open records request filed by the News-Star revealed ULM received 35 applications for the university’s head-coaching position.

Dan Hawkins, who served as the head coach at Boise State and Colorado, former Houston coach Tony Levine, Tennessee tight ends coach Larry Scott, former North Texas offensive coordinator Mike Canales and ULM alum Chris Scelfo were the only applicants with FBS head-coaching experience.

Hawkins averaged 10 wins a year at Boise from 2001-05 and parlayed that into the Colorado job in 2006. He couldn’t replicate the same success in Boulder and was fired during the 2010 season after winning 19 games in just under four seasons.

Couple of things, first, this move by the Monroe News Star might have completely changed the coaching search game. No group of professionals are consistently more full of shit than football programs but especially during coaching searches. Amazingly, everyone always seems to get their first choice. Well, now with this paper showing that you can file an open records request, we can now call bull shit on them.

When USC hires the next Clay Helton and says that he was the only coach ever considered, we can now call bull shit, and after 14 days, we can prove it. Huge win for guys who hate coach speak.

However most importantly, it's good to see Dan Hawkins name out there again. For those that don't know who he is, he was Chris Petersen before Chris Petersen. For those that don't know who Chris Petersen is, he was the coach at Boise State when they ran the Statue of Liberty play to beat Oklahoma. I'm glad to see Hawkins' name out there, not because I'm particularly fond of his coaching, but mainly because I get reminded of his Colorado tenure and most importantly the time that Cartman introduced the starting lineup during a broadcast.

"Because he's the coaches son." Classic Dan Hawkins.

Who Needs Viagra When You've Got a Tweet Like This?

Whooooo! If that tweet doesn't make you feel it in the loins as a fan, nothing will. Nothing like the thought of a retread hire of someone that was less successful than the guy you just fired to give you that afternoon lift you needed to finish the workday strong.

Let's take a look at the candidates. Mike Smith, come on down.

Overall, not a bad body of work save for the fact that he's 1-4 in the playoffs, and that can usually be attributed to quarterback play. Matt Ryan is fine, but in every matchup against a better player (Kurt Warner, Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning), he was beaten. The outlier is 2012 when the Falcons lost to Colin Kaepernick, but anyone that watched his performance during playoffs thought their TV had somehow flipped to a game of Madden.

Honestly, I'm such a sad state that I think I just talked myself into Mike Smith. My single biggest hangup is that he made a name for himself by coaching the Ravens defense when they had Ray Lewis in his prime. 

Here's a list of people that Ray Lewis got NFL head coaching gigs: Mike Smith, Chuck Pagano, Mike Pettine, Marvin Lewis, Rex Ryan, Mike Singletary, Mike Nolan, and Jack Del Rio. These coaching stalwarts have combined for a 353-356-2 (.497) record in the regular season and a sizzling 6-15 record in the playoffs with Rex Ryan accounting for four of those wins.

And then there's Doug Marrone. 

Pluses, he has won twice within the city limits (Nothing puts you on the map like the Pinstripe Bowl, nothing.), and he did actually accomplish a winning season with the Bills. That hadn't been done in a decade. 

Minuses, he did quit on his team, like literally quit. He just opted out of his contract after a winning season. He took his ball and went home.

I'm sick of the retread. Honestly, coaching in the NFL is the single greatest gig around. Once you're in, you're in. You have at the minimum a six-figure job for as long as you want to work so long as you're willing to be an assistant.

However, when is the last time that a retread hire worked? The best arguments are for Belichick, Pete Carroll, and honestly Tom Coughlin, who was slightly above .500 coach who made the most of two playoff runs (Curiously, he finished with a .531 win percentage at both Jacksonville and New York). Belichick was also building something in Cleveland until Art Modell decided to move his team to Baltimore creating a toxic locker room and work environment. Pete Carroll was forced to go back to the college ranks and even that was a struggle to do as he was famously USC's fourth choice to replace Paul Hackett.

Which brings me to my conclusion. Why continue to do the same thing and expect a different result? The retread doesn't work. There are exceptions, but that's what they are. For every Pete Carroll, there's a Lovie Smith. For every Bill Belichick, there's a John Fox. 

It's time to think differently. The city needs to get more Urban, and by that I mean, go get Urban Meyer. Sure, his success has been limited to the college game, but he's won everywhere he has been. Bowling Green, He won. Utah, He won. Florida, He's the only person not named Spurrier to win big at Florida (sneak overrated job). Ohio State, he won and did so before anyone expected him to.

Parcells likes to say that you are what your record says you are. Urban is a winner. He can handle the egos of an NFL locker room, and he has shown that he can run a team full of criminals, two skills necessary to succeed in the NFL.     

I don't care that he's a fraud. I don't care that he's a hypocrite. He's not saving lives. He's coaching football. Give me the one who wins and doesn't care what gets in the way. Give me Urban, the city could use a little more of it.

The Reign of Terror Continues

Source - As if the sports marketing world needed another sign that the 22-year-old is "the real thing," the golfer has signed a deal with Coca-Cola. Neither the company nor his agent, Jay Danzi, would confirm the financials of the partnership other than to say it the multiyear deal will be one of the biggest the company has made with an athlete.

Spieth will appear on everything from television commercials to digital and social media as well as point-of-sale and on packaging for Coca-Cola products as well as its water brand Dasani.

With his performance over the last year, Spieth has vaulted himself into an exclusive category. One source familiar with the deal said that, internally, he's on the same level as LeBron James (who had his own Sprite flavor for the past two years), Jennifer Aniston (Smartwater) and Taylor Swift (Diet Coke).

I've made no secret that I'm still a Rory guy first and foremost, and stuff like this is why.

Jordan Spieth's Reign of Terror continues. He lives modestly, draws inspiration from his autistic sister, and does essentially none of the stuff we would do if we conquered our profession at 22, like helping people out.

When Rory conquered the world, he did exactly what we all would have done. He punted his then girlfriend for a new hotter one, but not before saying "Sup?" to a model or two. He bought the farthest thing from a modest house and sold out to the highest bidder on his club deal. That's my guy. He's relatable.

Spieth has now entered a new stratosphere. Quick check of the names he was just mentioned with:

(Peasant)

Sigh. 

PS - At least he's going bald. Props to the big man upstairs for trying to keep it fair.

Collateral Damage: The First Domino of CFP Ratings begins to fall

Source - Despite the efforts of the College Football Playoff committee and some media outlets downplaying the financial hit ESPN took by being forced to televise the two national championship semi-final games on New Year’s Eve, media buyers say the network owes upwards of $20 million in ad make goods for ratings shortfalls for the two games.

ESPN may have gotten a bit greedy when setting its ratings estimates and offering higher guarantee levels to advertisers for the two games, knowing audiences might not flock to their TV sets, despite the optimism of the CFP committee. However, advertisers are concerned about next season’s potential audience levels for the games, which will also be televised on New Year’s Eve. Even if the ratings guarantees by ESPN are set lower, advertisers would prefer the games be moved to New Year’s Day or even on consecutive primetime nights, exclusive of New Year’s Eve, when more people would likely watch.

But CFP committee officials are on record as adamantly supporting the continued airing of the playoff series games on New Year’s Eve as scheduled, which will occur in seven of the remaining 10 years of the 12-year original deal. And that position has been taken even after the 36% combined ratings decline for the two games was disclosed.

Wait just a minute! You're telling me that when TV ratings drop 40 percent from the previous year that there might be consequences?!? Huh, that is all very interesting.

While everyone loves to bash ESPN (looking at me, here), I don't think they are at fault here. I actually believe the ratings drop could be part of a greater plan.

Say what you want about their personalities and on-air talent, but I don't think anyone among us would suggest that ESPN isn't good at what their primary objective is -- broadcasting games. The truth is that ESPN didn't become the unquestioned leader in sports broadcasting with idiots at the controls, and while they do shove original content and programming that insists upon itself down our throats, the powers that be know that the lifeblood of the organization is broadcasting live games. So, I actually think that this current predicament could actually result in a win for the consumer, a rarity today for cable subscribers.

Here's the truth about the College Football Playoff: though packaged differently, it's still the bowl system. In fact, it has unintentionally given the bowl games more power. The BCS only had to cater to cater to the Rose and Sugar four bowls whereas the playoff is now tied to six. The BCS largely could control scheduling while keeping the bowls happy.

In the early years of the BCS, there was an understanding that when your bowl game was the national title game, it would be moved from its traditional date to a stand-alone date after New Year's Day to increase ratings and therefore television money. This meant that the Rose Bowl would be able to keep its coveted 5 p.m. eastern time slot, and additionally, the Sugar Bowl would be able to keep its primetime slot on New Year's Day. The Orange and Fiesta Bowls showed that they didn't care about their time slot or date rather they just wanted a seat at the table.

When the BCS added the stand-alone title game, everyone was able to go back to their traditional time slot as the game was essentially just a new bowl game that rotated among the four BCS bowl sites on a yearly basis. Therefore, the Rose was able to keep its coveted New Years Day slot, and the Sugar Bowl showed that as long as its game was featured in primetime that it would agree to a floating date.

Enter the CFP and more importantly the addition of two more, featured bowl games. The CFP decides that its featured games (semi-finals included), the New Year's Six, will all be played on either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. This is where everything breaks down.

Much of the blame for the scheduling has been thrown at the Rose Bowl, somewhat deservedly so but not entirely deservedly so. The Rose Bowl would not concede its traditional time slot, and neither would the Sugar Bowl (the silent assassin).

Since ESPN is years away from ever realistically broadcasting the Super Bowl (Don't kid yourself, that's their goal), having the entire college football playoff and the games that go with it, is the next best option, so they're in the business of keeping those games and their executives happy. In addition to the Orange and Fiesta, the Cotton and Peach Bowls were also happy to kiss the ring as they didn't previously have a seat at the adult's table, so the Rose and Sugar Bowls once again were king. It's not a coincidence that they got the first crack at being the semi-finals.

Here's another fact about the Rose and Sugar Bowls, the people that run them saw Gone with the Wind in theaters on opening weekend. They're not really open to change.

But, and this is why, I'm not convinced that the ratings drop isn't part of the plan--cash is the real king. ESPN knew that forcing the hand of the two biggest power players probably wasn't going to be best for business, particularly considering Fox has now very much entered into the fray and NBC has been expanding its game rights collection too. If it tried to bully the two big dogs, they were taking their ball and going home. Therefore, they decided the intellectual children them see the results for themselves.

Ratings are down and now the advertisers (the people that are really paying for this) are pissed, but are you really telling me that Disney and ESPN didn't know what they were doing? Take a look at Disney's purchases.

    

I'm not buying it. Disney didn't become the second-largest media company while ESPN became the largest sports broadcasting company with idiotic decisions, and the decision to play the playoff on New Years Eve at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. were idiotic. You know how we know it was idiotic? Everyone was saying this exact thing when it was announced. The closest thing to a defense that we got was "It's the playoffs. People will still watch." That works for the NFL (fantasy football/gambling implications), a national brand, but it doesn't fly when you're dealing with college football, largely a regional product.

The Super Bowl has about 130 million viewers each year while the highest-rated regular season game in 2015 didn't reach 30 million viewers. Ratings are about bringing in the casual fan. The casual college football fan isn't worried about watching a game that he knows nothing about on New Year's Eve. He's worried about casual sex. Dabo won't make him feel it in the loins, and he certainly won't make anyone yell out YABO! with a stranger after the ball drops. And, that my friends is the reality of it all.

 The Alabama hardcore fan will watch the playoff regardless of scheduling, but that's not the fan that drives ratings. The fan that drives ratings is the guy who's miserably hungover on New Year's Day and just wants to watch some football while not feeling guilty that he has no intention of showering. New Year's Day is college football's day. It's the day most closely associated with the sport. 

The best chance that we have to see real change is that ratings continue to underwhelm and therefore creating less money. I'm willing to bet that that was also the same bet that ESPN took when it agreed to the current playoff schedule.

When Keeping it Real Goes Right

I've got a couple of thoughts, here. First, honesty is always the best policy. They teach you that in grade school, so hats off to this guy if he is being sincere.

This is a guy you can trust, and we could all use someone like him in our gang. Everyone needs the honesty guy. He's the guy that will keep it real and will remind you that what you're wearing or what you did with your hair looks stupid. He's an invaluable member to any group.

However, I would like to offer another thought. Can we talk about "the reporter" for just a minute? It's tough to be more local news than this chick. If you just close your eyes and hear her talk, you immediately assume she's local news girl, and she doesn't disappoint. The spirit of Cronkite and Murrow live on through her relentless reporting.

Part of me thinks that this guy is just saying whatever it takes to get her away because she is not only bothering every single person in the room but most importantly, she's bothering him. Perhaps the only guy more important to the crew than "honesty guy" is "Fuck off" guy. This guy hero is the guy that says what everyone is thinking and is necessary while still affording you the opportunity to get laid. He's like the anti-cheerleader effect. Instead of your looking better because you're with better looking people, you look better because you're not him. And that my friends, is what it's all about.

Here's to you Mr. Fuck Off guy. You're not the hero we deserve, but you are the hero we need.

Move Over Kelly Clarkson, There's a New Girl in Town

For those of you who are "worried that Jeffrey's life is a cry for help," I suggest you stop reading right now. Seriously, the next admissions are to be filed under the heading "Do Not Use" in the event that I am placed under psychiatric watch for sanity questioning.

I've been reeling ever since I learned that my "attainable if I were three deep at the same bar" celebrity crush, Kelly Clarkson, has seemingly moved on with her life giving thought to neither my personal detriment nor the countless memories we made together. Seriously, how could she forget the time that I went all the way to Jimmy Kimmel's Summer Crush Concert Series in 2009 just to see her?!? The title of the event said it all. We were each other's summer crushes. We were so perfect for each other it hurt. Alas, I should have known better when she sang "Already Gone" three times (it was recorded for TV I'm told) and stared right into my soul with her piercing and famous hazel eyes just to emphasize that in spite of all we shared, she was indeed already gone. I was devastated and still am a little bit truth be told. Well rather, still was, until last night. You can all sleep soundly now. I've moved on. I'm ready once again to open myself up to love that will never be. I'm finally ready to stop flirting and commit. Aga Radwanska, I choose you.

Our love started much in the same manner that Kelly's and mine did, during the summer. And no, you need not worry that I'm setting myself up for disaster yet again. Like they say on TV and the movies/like girls who clearly got dumped and still aren't over it say, I learned so much. This time it IS different. I met Agnie on the Fourth of July, and being the patriot that I am, I know this was no coincidence. As I was recovering from celebrating the land that I love, I was watching The Championships at Wimbledon. (I love this title so much. Seriously, so arrogant. There are 4 majors, but only 1 "Championships". Such a power move, and I don't hate it) I discovered a striking young Belarusian who looked much like she played the game of tennis, non threatening. Yet, for some reason I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen when she was on it and even began to ask myself the question, "Do you actually like this girl?". By the end of the match I was openly rooting so hard for her on every point that the truth was obvious. I had a case of the Radwanskas. 

While I was smitten, she lost, and by the end of the day I had already forgotten her. Whatever. Judge me for forgetting about the love of my life mere minutes after meeting her. I had a country, nay a nation, to celebrate, and you best believe I wasn't letting some chick get in the way of my patriotic duty. That attitude is why the terrorists will never win.

Flash forward to the evening of January 21, 2014. Alas we meet again, my love. Time and separation has made me grow fonder and realize just how much I missed her. That's on me. I was scared, and truth be told, wasn't really sure how I truly felt. I spent tireless hours debating her hotness, frantically searching for kini and formal wear pictures, texting tennis scholars, also looking up her relationship status (for some reason that does affect my feelings for imaginary relationships) before finally making my decision. After spending the entire 1st set playing countless rounds of "She's Hot, She's Not", there was no need for further debate. She was so in my head, and there was nothing I could do about it. So, I decided at the end of the 2nd set of her quarterfinal match at the Australian Open (I need to be specific so that I can have the exact answer for when she inevitably asks, "When did you know I was the one you for which you were waiting?"), that I indeed could no longer deny what was so clearly true: Aga is the girl for me. Spoiler Alert! She won the 3rd set 6-0. Coincidence? I think not. I don't want to say our love was the reason that she won the 3rd set, but our love was totally the reason she won the 3rd set. Here's to many happy returns. 

For Me?!? Stop it! I'll gladly be your trophy husband,
but you have to forget that I'm not actually hot and don't qualify as a "trophy". 

Agnie is being silly. I always do the driving.

       

We clean up well. Scared Brangelina? I would be.

Melting my heart, princess