Last Blog for Budget & Finance of Sports

First and foremost, I really enjoyed the class; primarily because of the size of the class and the style in which it was taught. We all enjoyed the open discussions and have told several other students how much we liked the class. I have a feeling that the class will be some what larger next semester.As for the blogs, I never looked forward to actually writing one, but enjoyed writing them once I started. Maybe a good way to handle the blog from here on is to only write 4 or 5 for the semester, but make them longer. I can see where reading all of them for a larger class can take an enormous amount of time.

The assignments I enjoyed the most about the class were the excel assignment and the book report on “Moneyball”. I have always enjoyed working with excel and I have already used several times the new applications I learned (I started working last week on a data base of all Division III schools for film exchange purposes). Moneyball was a fun read and I have always enjoyed any book with behind the scene stories of what goes on in the sports world.

 

I am sure that both Sports Econ and Budget Finance will be among the most popular classes in the department. Best of luck at KSU and look forward to reading your new book when it comes out.

Michigan Victm of (B)ull (C)rap (S)ystem

Ohio Sate is the undisputed number one college football team in the country; congratulations BCS, you got one right. Michigan, on the other hand, got royaly screwed. How do you loose your only game of the year by 3, to the number one team in the country on their field and end up number three? I am a big SEC fan, but whats right is right. There is no way anyone can convince me Florida should be number 2. They struggled against Arkansas and barely beat Georgia, Vandy, S. Carolina, Tennessee and Florida St. Why can’t the NCAA simply use some common sense and add one additional game for the BCS Championship? As I mentioned in an earlier blog; continue to use the formula for ranking the top four BCS teams and when the season ends, have 1 play 4 and 2 play 3. This alone would have made this year so much better. Everyone wins; you keep all your bowl games and add one additional game (which could still be a bowl sponsored game) that brings in even more revenue for the schools, networks and NCAA. College football is really starting to look like the WWF.

Coach Schembechler

I love schools with rich tradition and greatly respect the Coaches that helped create it. Coach Schembechler was one of those Coaches and with his untimely passing this past Friday (dieing of a heat attack the day before arguably the biggest game in Michigan’s history), I wanted to learn more about Coach Schembechler and his career.

Growing up a sports junky, I of course new who Bo Schembechler was and fairly familiar with all of his accomplishments. What I did not know is that Coach Schembechler is one of several big name coaches that Miami University – Ohio produced. I have never thought of Miami University has being a traditionally rich football school, but their list of head Coaches prove otherwise. Coaches such as; Sid Gillman, Woody Hayes, Bill Mallory, Ara Parseghian and Coach Schembechler were all once head coaches there. I also didn’t realize that Coach Schembechler was only at Michigan for 20 years (1969 – 1989), it seemed like he was there much longer, probably because he was Michigan football and had such a dominating presence on the sidelines. One thing that really surprised me is that with all the great teams that Coach Schembechler had at Michigan he never won a national championship.

Maybe I’m wrong, but I think where about to loose a significant part of our sports history. A group of coaching legends that will never be replaced, mainly due to their commitment to their schools and the traditions they built.  Coach Schembechler is definitely one of those coaches.

BCS Solution

Why does NCAA have so much trouble reaching a reasonable solution to crown a national champion in football? The answer to all this madness is obvious; continue to use the formula for ranking the top four BCS teams and when the season ends, have 1 play 4 and 2 play 3. These games could be played on New Years Day and the winner of these games could play for a National Championship a week later. All of these games could continue to be a bowl sponsored game with the championship game rotating each year among the top bowls (Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Cotton Bowl, etc.) The revenue for these games would go through the roof and everybody wins (fans, sponsors, NCAA, players and so on). This to me is a no brainer. College football needs to act soon and bring football up to date with all the other sports.

80 and Thriving

A nice morning walk, driving to the store, a challenging game of shuffleboard: these are just a few activities you would find the average 70 year old participating in. Then there are the super seniors, people like Joe Paterno who is not only still coaching at the age of 80, but running out of the tunnel with his team. Coach Paterno’s career at Penn State has spanned over 50 years and 10 U.S. Presidents. His close friend and rival coach Bobby Bowden is a youthful 77 years old and will most likely be coaching for a few more years before he hangs up the whistle.

While most of us at the age of 70 would be happy to fog a mirror or consume a bowl of our favorite jello; these men are as active as most 40 year olds. What are their secrets to staying active? Is it simply just that; staying active? There are many other coaches such as; Eddie Robinson, George Halas (football), Connie Mack, Casey Stengal, and Jack McKeon (baseball) that have had their coaching careers continue past 70. What do these men have in common? Is it great genetics, regimental workouts, eating healthy or hanging around young people?

I have always admired all of these life long coaches, but there is something special about Coach Paterno. This guy has been accidentally ran over in practice just to hop right back up and he still leads his team out on Saturday by running out of the tunnel. I am not even close to being a Penn State fan, but still cheer him on from my living room every time I see it. Maybe the most amazing thing is that he’s still a great coach. Last year his team went 11-1 and they’re 6-3 so far this year. I hope he coaches for 10 more years.

I wrote this blog Friday morning and evidently jinxed Joe P. I was watching Sports Center Saturday evening and saw him get run over on the sideline. Oops!

Money for nothing

There is no doubt that coaching basketball in the NCAA is a very demanding job and the road to the top is paved with enormous sacrifices. However, once you reach the upper echelon of coaches, you are golden. You may be fired after losing seasons, getting drunk in public, driving under the influence, abusing players (kick, choke, and cuss) or calling out your universities administration on national TV. No worries, you will receive a buyout, you will be forgiven and you will be rehired – only in America. Therefore the following coaches have managed to do what most hard working people can’t do; get fired and paid. The average worker is lucky to receive two weeks severance and coaches parachute out with millions.

Bob Huggins has won more games than any other coach at Cincinnati, but his tenure also has been marred by player arrests, NCAA rules violations (that landed the school on probation) and never graduated a single player. His arrest for drunken driving two years ago upset the new school president Nancy Zimpher. The UC president made “no apologies for setting high standards,” and gave Coach Bob Huggins a choice: Be fired or resign. He resigned and received $1.9 million. Coach Huggins has now landed a position at Kansas State University.

Bob Knight was fired then paid for the final two years of his contract. Knight has one of the game’s most notorious tempers — throwing chairs across the court, stuffing a fan in a garbage can, scuffling with Puerto Rico police and kicking his own son on the bench. A little over two years ago, he was accused of choking one of his players during practice in 1997, an act caught on videotape. He is then hired by Texas Tech. 

Larry Eustachy wasn’t fired by Iowa State; his contract was bought out because of his drinking problem. His career took a step backwards because he attended a party at Missouri and took a few pictures with drunken coeds. He landed at Southern Mississippi.

Nolan Richardson was dismissed solely because of his comments after the Kentucky game in 2002, when Richardson said if the UA offered to buy out his contract, he would accept. They didn’t just offer, they fired him and bought him out for $5 million. Richardson then made the ultimate mistake – he played the race card. He is still waiting for his next offer. 

I’m sorry, I don’t get it. First of all; have these coaches even earned the right to make millions of dollars per year? Are there not other coaches that can do just as good a job and not embarrass their university? I guess Bob Huggins is going to all of a sudden straighten up and run a tight program; what was Kansas State thinking?

No Respect

Name all the division I schools in the metro Atlanta area (3). Now name any of the schools that have won a national championship in basketball (1). Can we not get the AJC to even mention us in the pre season report? I am not going to knock Georgia State, UGA (an hour out of Atlanta) or Georgia Tech; more power to them, but for the AJC not to even mention us? That’s embarrassing. Kennesaw State moved to Division I last season and went 12 – 17, a respectable year for a first year division I team.  We had a preseason 2005-2006 ranking of 333 out of a possible 334 teams, moved as high as 124 (during our 7 game win streak that had us #1 in the conference with a record of 9-1) and finished around 260. We were picked to finish next to last in the conference and finished 7th out of 11 teams.  I remember one small article they wrote during all of last season. I know the A-Sun will never get the respect that an SEC or ACC school receives, but can we not garner the same respect as the Colonial? How does this happen? Are we such a commuter school that I’m the only one this pisses off?

Referee – A license to cheat?

What happens to a referee if he cheats? Seriously, in any sport; what are the repercussions for a ref caught cheating? Maybe a better question is how hard is it to prove that a ref cheated? When was the last time anyone heard of a ref being involved in an obviously bad call that resulted in a huge payout in Vegas? Are they untouchable?  

I am not accusing anyone of anything, but let’s look at the holding penalty in football. Can a ref call a hold on any possession in football? Just about any football fan would probably tell you yes. Could a holding call cause a team to loose a game that could result in millions of dollars won or lost? – Absolutely. The fact that I have never heard of a referee being charged with any illegal gambling on sporting events strikes me odd. You hear of players from time to time such as: Pete Rose, The Black Sox scandal of 1919, and KY basketball’s point shaving, but has anyone heard of a ref being named in illegal gambling? This all strikes me very odd; could it be that referees are simply the most honest people on the face of the earth or are they the most protected?

I am well aware that there are some very honest and good people refereeing, but tell me of anyone in a better position to affect the outcome of a game.

Can we get a T.O. from T.O.?

I think most people would quickly reply that they would like to see and hear less of Terrell Owens, however, deep down they don’t really mean it. He is the whole circus act; he is the tight rope act, the juggler, the lion tamer and the human cannonball rolled into one. It’s like watching a train wreck or Joe Theisman’s leg break; you know you shouldn’t watch, but you do anyway, then rewind it and watch it again. We all talk about what an attention starved person he must be and how we are sick of all of his theatrics, however, we don’t look away, and we don’t turn him off. Honestly, I am surprised some fortune 100 has not used him as their spokesperson, he is probably the most talked about athlete on the planet (we stopped our class to watch his press conference after he supposedly overdosed). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t condone his off the field actions; but is he not making the most of his 15 minutes of fame? (Can anyone tell me about Bob Hayes and his accomplishments? I didn’t think so) After all; has he ever beat up a woman, shot someone or received a DUI? I know that the absence of the for- mentioned does not make him a saint, yet it does seem to be the norm for a vast majority of superstar athletes.

As most of us know, Terrell grew up in a less than desirable situation and if you’re not aware, I suggest you read his biography from the following link: http://www.jockbio.com/Bios/Owens/Owens_bio.html. I only bring up his past to make this point - he is what he is and that’s not all bad. He is a self made multi-millionaire that has more than beat the odds dealing with the cut throat business of professional football. I know that Terrell has brought on most of his problems by not showing up to team meetings, reporting to training camps late, calling out a team mate, or not handling the press properly. So what; he is an amazing athlete that produces at an extremely high level of efficiency on the field and in my opinion has never had a coach man enough to set aside his own over inflated ego long enough to coach or mentor him. As for the press, they’re a bunch of blood sucking hypocritical vultures that act like they hate train wrecks only to continue circling above the trains. I am a lot sicker of the so called expert host that make up the gazillion sports shows than I am of the troubled athlete that can’t seem to do or say anything right.

I personally hope Terrell has another great season and that he does find some happy median with the Cowboy’s. The Tuna could be just the coach to help T.O., but only if the circling vultures will allow him. Unfortunately, this non expert predicts they won’t. 

Ryder Cup underdogs to be led by a roaring Tiger

When Tiger Woods stands on the tee of the first hole at the Ryder Cup tomorrow morning, he will be leading the charge of some pissed off Americans. As most everyone has heard by now, an irish magazine published some naked photos of a lady they claimed is Tiger Woods wife, Elin Nordegren. They then wrote, “Most American golfers are married to women who cannot keep their clothes on in public” and they went on to say, “Is it too much to ask that they leave them at home for the Ryder Cup? Consider the evidence. Tiger Woods’ wife can be found in a variety of sweaty poses on porn sites.”

What idiots!

Thank you euopean press! Thanks for pissing off the number one golfer in the world. Most consider the europeans to be the odds on favorite, but I predict, scratch that – GAURANTEE the Americans will WIN led by the charge of a roaring tiger. I have always admired Tiger for not only his work ethic, but for also having the professional knack for saying the right thing regardless of the situation. Woods was obviously upset, but addressed the situation Wednesday morning with the following comment; ”I know the media can be a little bit difficult at times, but when you … it’s hard to be very diplomatic about this when you have so much emotion involved, when my wife is involved in this. As I said, I don’t want that to deter from the beauty of this event.”

We all know that Tiger hasn’t had the best Ryder Cup record and some jerk will undoubtedly write that it took false naked pictures of his wife to get fired up enough to win a Ryder Cup match, but never the less, look for a different Tiger this weekend. With the support of the whole American team led by Captain Tom Lehman, this Ryder Cup team will bring the cup back to the Red, White and Blue. 

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/rydercup06/news/story?id=2595557