Good stuff from today’s Morning Joe with John Miller discussing his latest book on how Teddy Roosevelt saved football:

Over at Bleacher Report, there’s a blistering takedown of John Thompson, the former Georgetown basketball coach, by Harold Bell, a veteran DC sports broadcaster. He and Thompson clearly have a history of animosity, but he doesn’t appear to be making things up, and there’s plenty of lurid stuff there. This is actually one of Bell’s milder stories:

Early in his second season at Georgetown, when his job was on the line, in the wee hours of the morning someone hung a banner in the Georgetown Gym that read “John Thompson the nigger coach must go!” 

Back then I was his first line of defense in the media.

When he called my home at 3 a.m. explaining what had happened, I was pissed off.

I must admit, he played me like a beaten drum. I later discovered he’d hung the banner himself. 

All that mattered to him was the end result: It helped him keep his job.

A pretty good op-ed in today’s New York Times by Joe Nocera on how players are treated differently by the NCAA than the coaches.

Maybe it was the annual spectacle of March Madness. Maybe it was the Jim Tressel imbroglio at Ohio State. Maybe it was the lingering aftereffects of the Cam Newton scandal. Maybe it was Ed O’Bannon’s ongoing lawsuit, which contends that former NCAA players should be able to profit from uses of their image or likeness (as in video games, rebroadcasts, DVDs, etc.).

Whatever the reason, journalists have ignited a fresh debate over the merits of paying college athletes. Last week, PBS and HBO each aired major specials on the relative injustices of a system that allows players to generate billions in revenue each year but prohibits them from receiving a dime of it. Coaches can sign multimillion-dollar contracts, endorse products, and rake in lucrative speaking fees — that’s all in the game. (Just ask Alabama’s Nick Saban.) But if a star quarterback sells even one autographed jersey, he is violating NCAA rules.

The perceived unfairness of those rules has spurred critics to demand a radical overhaul. It is time, they say, to give the players — “the employees” — regular wages or salaries. Broadly speaking, there are three common objections to this idea:

(1) “Top-tier college athletes already do get paid, in the form of lucrative scholarships. Moreover, those with professional aspirations benefit from critical training and exposure that enhances their draft prospects.”

(2) “What part of ‘student-athlete’ don’t you understand? Turning these kids into de facto salaried professionals would irrevocably transform college sports, make a further mockery of the ‘academic mission’ that schools claim to be pursuing, and exacerbate corruption.”

(3) “Yes, it’s unfair that certain football and basketball players produce enormous riches for their schools and don’t get to reap the spoils. But paying them would be a logistical nightmare; indeed, it would prove impossible to devise a truly ‘fair’ revenue-distribution scheme. There are better ways to make college sports more equitable.”

The third objection is the most compelling. Paying student-athletes represents an ethically dubious solution to a legitimate problem. But the strongest argument against it is a practical one: How exactly would the payment system operate? Between 2004 and 2009, fewer than 7 percent of all Division I sports programs generated positive net revenue, according to NCAA data. Fewer than 12 percent of all Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) schools — 14 out of 120 — did so in fiscal year 2009. For that matter, the NCAA reports that only 50 percent to 60 percent of FBS football and basketball programs make money.

In other words, a significant chunk of top-level FBS programs are losing money. Should those programs be obliged to pay their football and basketball players, even though they aren’t actually producing a net profit? Or should only moneymaking programs be forced to offer player salaries? Would it be “fair” to have a system in which roughly half of all FBS schools paid their players while the other half didn’t? Do we really want blue-chip recruits picking a college based on financial compensation? Wouldn’t the wealthiest programs just scoop up all the best talent?

Meanwhile, would each salaried player on a given team be paid the same amount? If not, who would decide whether the All-American linebacker deserved more money than the All-American wide receiver, or whether the star point guard was more valuable than the star power forward? Would 18-year-olds be negotiating “contracts” with officials in their athletic department? Would they be hiring agents before high-school graduation? And how would all this affect those sports programs that depend on football and basketball revenue to stay afloat?

To pose these questions is to realize that paying college athletes is simply unfeasible. Still, the current NCAA rules are deeply flawed, and many players are indeed being exploited. Let’s face it: Big-time college football and basketball basically function as minor-league systems for the NFL and the NBA, respectively, while creating massive profits for everyone except the athletes. Scholarships are financially valuable, sure. But according to PBS, “The average scholarship falls about $3,000 short of covering” an athlete’s “essential” college expenses. Closing that gap — i.e., boosting scholarship aid — would be an easy way to help cash-strapped players meet their living costs.

Renowned sports economist Andrew Zimbalist proposed such a reform two years ago in a New York Times online symposium. He also made a broader point about the NCAA’s stated commitment to amateurism: “It is one thing to demand that a college athlete lose amateur status when he or she signs a professional contract, but quite another to bar an athlete from entering a professional draft or hiring an agent to explore the opportunities of going pro.”

In the same symposium, University of New Haven business professor Allen Sack (who played football at Notre Dame during the 1960s) noted that college sports have already effectively become professionalized. “Given the N.C.A.A.’s abandonment of time-honored amateur principles,” he argued, “no good reason exists for preventing athletes from engaging in the same entrepreneurial activities as their celebrity coaches. Big-time college athletes should be able to endorse products, get paid for speaking engagements and be compensated for the use of their likenesses on licensed products. They should be allowed to negotiate an actual contract with the N.B.A. as part of a final project in a finance class, and have an agent.”

Those changes seem reasonable enough. Writing in the 2009 Times forum, former Penn basketball player Stephen Danley suggested another: Schools should take a slice of the profits generated by their revenue sports and add a fifth-year option to athletic scholarships. As Danley explained, many student-athletes competing at the highest levels just do not have the time to handle a normal academic load. “In certain programs, players aren’t even allowed to take enough classes to graduate in four years” (emphasis added). Of course, some players were never adequately prepared for higher education in the first place and wouldn’t be attending university at all if not for their skills on the field or the court. But if America’s richest college-sports programs are going to continue treating many “student-athletes” as full-time athletes, they should at least give those athletes the financial means to return for an extra year of schooling and complete a degree after their playing days are over.

(Cross-posted at The Corner.)

Cheering for Butler, predicting UConn.

I picked Butler and UConn to advance to the final, and I expected to be picking Butler to win it all tonight. But the semifinal-game performances have given me pause.

When Matt Howard picked up his fourth foul with 9:21 left in the second half of Butler’s win over VCU, the Bulldogs were up by five points and immediately went into lead-management mode. Defensively, VCU was able to key on Sheldon Mack and no one really stepped up for Butler (it looked as if coach Brad Stevens expected Shawn Vanzant to fill the breach, with mixed results). Had VCU pounded the ball into Jamie Skeen (who also dominated the defensive glass in Howard’s absence) rather than tossing up off-target three-pointers, the Rams might have pulled that game out. Butler is tough (as Clark Kellogg must have said ten times during the semifinal broadcast), but without Howard that toughness looked more mental than physical.

Husky center Charles Okwandu has four inches and 25 pounds on the 6′ 8″, 230-pound Howard. I smell foul trouble for Howard early in the second half. Butler will try to protect him by keeping him on the offensive perimeter, but UConn center/forward Alex Oriakhi (who is 6′ 9″, 240) is quick enough to mark him out there.

Plus, how can I go against fellow Bronxite Kemba Walker? 

I’ll take UConn by five.

I love how VCU plays defense, John — they’re constantly flying around all over the place. But on the other side of the court, that same frenetic abandon gives their offense a loose-cannon feel, prone to stretches of ineffectiveness. I think the Butler will do it.

Speaking of bad puns, is there another college team aside from the UConn Huskies whose nickname is based on a pun? I’ll take Connetcicut, under the assumption that they force Brandon Knight to beat them by going to his left. 

I’ll also take Dan’s rotisserie team in a laugher, as long as Mark Teixeira keeps up this three-run-dinger pace.

My head says: VCU over Butler & UConn over Kentucky.

But…

I have Kentucky in my wife’s lottery-style office pool.

Also, my 13-year-old son filled out his first NCAA bracket this year. Early on–and incomprehensibly–he picked Butler to reach the championship game. When he did, I gave him a funny look. But he’s going to have the last laugh. In our 33-member Yahoo tournament group, he’s currently in third place. His dear old dad is in the middle of the pack. If I did the math right, he’ll win the whole thing if Butler beats UConn on Monday night.

USA Today:

The Kentucky Wildcats play Saturday in the NCAA semifinals against Connecticut and, should they win, would play again Monday night in the national championship game.

Jeff Krauss, the mayor of Bozeman, Mont., isn’t taking any chances on the possibility of missing the title game.

Krauss, a die-hard Kentucky basketball fan, has canceled a Bozeman City Commission meeting scheduled for Monday so he won’t miss the game should the Wildcats advance.

“Everybody knows Kentucky basketball fans are lunatics and I’m no exception,” Krauss said Thursday, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

Is not faring well in the home-page poll on the NCAA tournament.

I see your video-clips and go all-in:

Navy Tribute Wins Sportsmanship Award 11/23/2009

Ohio State will be recognized by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics for its September 5th Armed Forces tribute during its 2009 season opener against the U.S. Naval Academy.  The University’s Department of Athletics will be honored at the 2009 AT&T National Sportsmanship Awards at the Chase Park Plaza in St. Louis on November 21st.

“We are extremely proud of the great work our student led Sportsmanship Council has done,” said Ohio State associate vice president and director of athletics, Gene Smith. ”Buckeye fans continue to demonstrate great sportsmanship at home and on the road. We are grateful for this honorable award.”

Mike Penner, assistant athletics director for event management at Ohio State, will receive the honor on behalf of the department of athletics.  Penner helped direct the athletics staff in paying tribute to all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. The department also will be acknowledged for its efforts leading up to the Navy game in helping to spread the message of sportsmanship and welcome the Midshipmen into Ohio Stadium.

When Navy came out of the tunnel, an opening day record crowd of 105,092 gave a standing ovation.  Then both teams lined up in the south endzone and each Buckeye shook hands with each Midshipmen.  As Coach Tressel progressed through the line, he looked every Midshipmen in the eyes and thanked them with genuine respect.  Then, in a rare, beautiful moment, the teams rushed the field together at the same time to raucous applause.

Before kickoff, a special, armed-forces-themed flyover wowed the crowd.  The Fighting Bengals of VMFA (AW) 224 stationed out of MCAS Beaufort in Beaufort, South Carolina, kicked things off in style.  During the break after the first quarter the Ohio National Guard was honored in the south endzone to, of course, a standing ovation.

At halftime, The Best Damn Band in the Land gave a tribute performance to the U.S. Naval Academy.  The Navy Fanfare was first, followed by Stars and Stripes Forever, the Navy Hymn, and finally, Anchors Away.  In a rare halftime edition of Script Ohio, former Ohio senator and U.S. Navy pilot John Glenn dotted the “I” with the OSU alumni band.

The rest here.

ESPN:

Warren Moon, the first African-American quarterback to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, told CBSSports.com that he believes some of the criticism of Auburn quarterback Cam Newton is based in racism.

“A lot of the criticism he’s receiving is unfortunate and racially based,” Moon, who is Newton’s adviser, told the website. “I thought we were all past this. I don’t see other quarterbacks in the draft being criticized by the media or fans about their smile or called a phony. He’s being held to different standards from white quarterbacks. I thought we were past all this stuff about African-American quarterbacks, but I guess we’re not.

“Of course there is racism in every walk of society. We’ve made a lot of progress in this country. But racism is still there. I just thought in the sports arena we were beyond it. I think the way Cam is being treated shows we’re not.”

No, it doesn’t. Quarterbacks make a lot of money and ALL QBs are subject to intense criticism, especially if a team is going to use a high first-round pick on them. For example, here’s a piece on the selection of white QB Tim Tebow in the 2010 NFL Draft:

All the critics and analysts said it would never happen, but Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has defied the odds again.

The former Heisman Trophy winner was selected No. 25 by the Denver Brocons, who traded with the Baltimore Ravens to get Tebow.

He was the second overall quarterback selected in the draft. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford was the No. 1 overall pick.

“I told them I was willing to do whatever it took,’’ Tebow said of his conversation with Broncos’ coach Josh McDaniels. “They know they are going to get my heart and soul and everything that goes with that.’’

Even after he was drafted, analysts continued to question whether the pick was a sound one, but Tebow didn’t seem deterred.

“Not everybody has to like you, just one team has to like you,’’ he said.

Tebow was the third Gator selected in Thursday’s first round, tying for the most first round picks in school history (1989).

Was it racist when the critics said Tebow didn’t have what it takes to be a first-round pick? Of course not.

And even with the criticism of Cam Newton, he’s still the No. 2 QB on Scouts Inc. pre-draft board.

Dan Wetzel has more on why Warren Moon is even raising the issue at this point:

Ex-NFL star Warren Moon has claimed that QB prospect Cam Newton is being unfairly criticized in the media because Newton is black.

Moon, who also is black, works as an adviser to Newton as he prepares for the NFL draft at the end of April. After 17 seasons as an NFL quarterback, starting at a time when the position was almost exclusively white, Moon has earned the right to broach the subject. His opinion shouldn’t be dismissed in a knee-jerk fashion.

It is, however, open to fair debate, especially since NFL draft coverage has hardly been kind to anyone, particularly white quarterbacks such as Tim Tebow, Ryan Mallett and Jimmy Clausen.

Even more, how does bringing race into the Cam Newton debate help Cam Newton? Isn’t Moon’s job to make Newton’s transition easier?

Race is a sensitive and complicated matter to discuss, especially on a national scale through the instant-feedback modern media. A 21-year-old QB trying to show teams he can move past numerous off-field dramas doesn’t appear to be the ideal vehicle. Moon may be ready for the argument. Is his client?

The rest here.

More Warren Moon:

“Colt McCoy came out of the spread offense and very few people raised that issue about him. So did Sam Bradford. Same thing. Very few questions asking if Bradford could run a pro offense. Some of these questions about Cam are more about his intellect. It’s blatant racism, some of it.”

Oh really? It looks like Moon’s memory is a little fuzzy on how last year’s white, spread-offense QBs avoided questions if they had the skills to play under center in the NFL:

“The thing that makes me laugh is the question of can he [Newton] come out of the spread offense? Can he run a pro offense? Colt McCoy came out of the spread offense and very few people raised that issue about him. So did Sam Bradford. Same thing. Very few questions asking if Bradford could run a pro offense. Some of these questions about Cam are more about his intellect. It’s blatant racism, some of it.”

From Nawrocki’s 2010 evaluation of Bradford: “Has not played much under center, operating heavily out of the shotgun, nor has made pro-style, NFL reads in OU’s simplified offense.”From Nawrocki’s 2010 evaluation of McCoy: “Played in an overly simplified offense that did not force the QB to learn the position and needs to be trained in the mechanics of dropping back from under center.”

Of course, if Newton drops to the 2nd round, this story won’t go away, no matter what the truth is.

Greg: I’m glad that Coach Tressel, when he isn’t violating NCAA rules, is having Ohio State players wear camo helmets. It’s a nice gesture.

Here’s how we honor the military at Michigan Stadium. This first clip is from the last December’s “Big Chill,” the Michigan-MSU hockey game that had more fans in attendance than any other hockey game ever played.

And here’s how Michigan rededicated the Big House last September:

…had a tournament and it played out like the basketball tournament this year? The Wall Street Journal illustrates it today:

Let’s get this blog off on the “right” foot, so to speak.

Here’s how they wear camo colors at Ohio State:

[Head football coach] Tressel so respects the military that the Buckeyes will wear camouflaged football helmets during spring practice.

And here’s an example from Michigan:

Case closed.

Rich, as an alumnus of the George Washington University (Hail to the Buff and Blue!), I can tell you we have a long tradition of accentuating the positive when it comes to our athletics.

When I was there, it was common to see t-shirts that read: “GW Football: Undefeated Since 1967.”

Of course, we hadn’t fielded a team since 1966. . .

A UVa pitcher threw a perfect game against GW the other day. Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post notes:  

Now, when you’re in the sports information business, you generally highlight the exploits of your own team, not your opponents. With very, very, very rare exceptions. I’d say the eighth Division I perfect game in the last half-century might be one of those rare exceptions.

But nope, I’d be wrong. Because here is the George Washington write-up of the game:

“The George Washington baseball team held No. 1 Virginia to just two runs on Tuesday evening at Davenport Field but were unable to compliment the strong pitching performance at the plate, falling 2-0.

GW (7-18) pitchers Tommy Gately, Kenny O’Brien and Craig Lejeune combined to hold Virginia (25-2) to just two runs on six hits. The top-ranked Cavaliers entered the game batting .297 as a team and averaging over seven runs per contest.”

Hmmm. Ok. Tell me more.

“Gately got the start for GW and pitched three innings, allowing just three hits and two earned runs with one strikeout. He worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the third by inducing two pop outs.

Both Virginia runs were scored in the bottom of the fourth inning after Gately exited the game. Ryan Levine led off the frame with a single and Kenny Swab followed with a walk to put two on with no outs.”

Gotcha. How about the Cavaliers? Did they do anything interesting?

“Virginia would score their first run after Reed Gragnini reached on a fielders choice. Another run would score via a balk but O’Brien escaped the inning without any further damage and allowed just two hits over the next three innings.”

Oh. Ok. And, uh, nothing else noteworthy? Wait, what’s this is the seventh paragraph?

“The two runs were all the Cavaliers would need as starting pitcher Will Roberts was perfect on the mound, striking out 10 batters en route to the eighth nine-inning perfect game in NCAA Division I (since 1957) history and the first since 2002.”