Well, here we are, at the second biggest shopping day of the holiday and fiscal season. It’s kind of sad, really- all those unwanted or mis- purchased gifts being dragged back to the mall, where “Good Will To Men” is certainly in short supply.
That being said… how hard is it to follow a list? And what part of “bullets” looks like “marbles”… grumble grumble grumble. Given what’s in the theaters beginning yesterday, you’ve got two choices for today’s soundtrack.
Buckeye 411
- Perfect Ten- Well, not perfect, but the Buckeyes find themselves at the ten spot in the AP poll following losses to Duke and Kansas. Indiana and Michigan both hold their spots above the Buckeyes, who find themselves the highest rated two loss team in the country.
- Great Dane? News Monday was that the Bears had dropped former Buckeye Dane Sanzenbacher, who only amassed 2 catches this season after 20+ at the end of last year. The good news is that he was immediately claimed by the Bengals, so congrats? I’m excited to see if he will be able to make an impact on the playoff bound Cinci squad, or if this will be a short-term assignment.
- All Is Not Wells? Speaking of Buckeye alumni, Beanie is convinced that he’ll be traded following this season.
- Ballin’- Elsewheres, Jared Sullinger had a pretty good Christmas Day game against the Nets: 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists. Well done, young fella.
- Stars- They make no sense at all. Case in point: This is the tape of a “four star” high school senior. Four. Not five. Four. Without setting the bar too high, I hope Joey Bosa turns the “star snub” into the same kind of drive that created John Simon.
- That Being Said- Bradley Roby was supposed to go to Vanderbilt to play wide receiver. I guess the folks at OSU must know that they’re doing with recruiting and positions and so forth- here’s his sophomore video, in case you were wondering how things worked out for him.
Commentary- Not Bowled Over
It’s Capitol One Bowl Week, which is appropriate- the games’ sponsors and “committees” will be the ones making bank over the next two weeks of games. While this might sound like the grumblings of a disgruntled OSU fan lamenting his team’s bowl ban, two things should be noted: 1) I am always appropriately gruntled, and 2) We’ve been talking about this at tBBC for a LONG time.
Just a reminder of ways that “bowl opportunities” are bad ideas for the vast majority of involved institutions- Few of the 70+ institutions will break even, and most will lose money due to required ticket purchases (at higher values than their actual worth- check TiqIQ) including mandatory tickets for the band that will perform at half time. In addition, a number of schools will perform in these exhibitions without their head coaches, all of whom deem the “honor” so prestigious that they’ve already bolted for greener pastures.
Back to the finances, our friend @FightOnTwist has done some extensive research into the “not-for-profit” scam that are the foundations of most bowl events; it was a major aspect of his graduate degree work. He’s also posted a brief summary of his perception over at Rivals Southern Cal site, entitled: The NCAA Failed Its’ Mission A Long Time Ago…. here’s an excerpt:
The BCS is grossly misusing taxpayers’ dollars and violating its status as a non-profit organization which is based on charitable contributions and work. Aside from donating money to political campaigns, the executives of these bowls have reimbursed and floated the cost of numerous items that had nothing to do with providing a non-profit service.
The non-profit value of an entity such as college football could have a large number of positive impacts on society. Drastic changes need to be made to the system to ensure compliance with regulatory procedures as well as to enforcing the spirit of a non-profit organization. These bowls have been given the freedom to operate without the watchful eye of the government and they have abused that freedom on a repeated basis. It has become clear that the organizations and foundations overseeing the non-profit charitable aspects and guidelines have no interest in initiating change within.
If anything, bowl directors and presidents of football schools have increased their salaries and expenses over time. It is, in a sense, tantamount to giving themselves a cut of the profits. This is something that is expressly forbidden among non-profit organizations.
So, in some ways having the Buckeyes out of the “post season” is a bad thing… for one, we have to make up reasons to look forward to watching Fresno State. Wheee. But, in addition to the recruiting advantage that the bowl ban provides Ohio State, there’s a little bit of pride to be found in the realization that, albeit for reasons that are less than ideal, this year the Buckeyes are not participating in this unjust and fiscally illegitimate scheme. But next year, we’re totally going to own it, you guys.
Oh, and as a postscript? Twist will be indisposed for a few days.
Around The NCAA
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Class. New Christmas Clothes! I always hated trying on freshly unwrapped duds for my folks, knowing that if they didn’t fit I’d have to fight the crowds in the mall in the next day or two; as I’ve mentioned, that’s a less than ideal usage of my valuable “bowl watchin'” time. However, a couple of folks have decided to show off their new gifts over the past day or two, and they’re worth a look. Bowling Green has gone patriotic for their Military Bowl game; Rice has done something similar for their Armed Forces Bowl game. But the “helmet tip” of the week is Virginia Tech, who’ve already decided to go with a matte finish look that’s so popular with the young people these days. But, during practice and prep, they’re wearing the ribbon on their helmets that you see at the right there- commemorating those students and other lost in the shootings on their campus AND in Newtown Connecticut. The game look will be more subdued, but it’s an important reminder of two similarly connected groups of people who still mourn during this holiday season.
- Ducking Out Of Town? Interesting news broke last week…seems that the good folks in Eugene are going to have their day in Indianapolis before the Committee on Infractions, after attempts to reach a mutual agreement on the findings and penalties broke down. This brings to mind a couple of questions- First, you can reach a mutual agreement with the NCAA and not have to face a committee? Huh. You’d have thought Gene would have known that. Second, you’ve got to think that this isn’t going to be a good thing is the COI wants to actually meet with a school… no one ever calls someone into the principal’s office to say “hey, we’re going to go a lot lighter on you than you think we should.” I’m still interested to see any type of Notice of Infractions… although, LSU went through their whole process and didn’t get the media colonoscopy that Ohio State and Southern Cal did, so it’s not unusual for things to be quiet. With all this smoke, though, is it any wonder why Chip Kelly’s name keeps coming up in NFL coaching searches?
- Expansion News- Still hearing that several ACC schools (Georgia Tech, Virginia, North Carolina) and others (Kansas?) might be the next members of the B1G to be named in the near future. Want to see an interesting perspective? What about rationale for LSU to leave the SEC, of which it’s a founding member?
- Not So Good At Math- Georgia is going to bring in a recruiting class of close to 35… which should be a problem, given the SEC’s new rules. However, unlike aTm’s 35 man recruiting class, Georgia will be able to “back count” and fill roster slots currently open due to a smaller class than usual in 2011. This is different than the previous SEC recruiting management process of “back counting”, wherein a student was told he wasn’t going to be allowed back and no longer counted.
And Finally
If I do decide to “deck the malls” tomorrow for some shopping shenanigans, I can pretty much guarantee this experience:
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