@MarkKnudson41
STRIKE THREE: The Big Ten conference announced this week some amazing, record shattering revenue numbers. The conference raked in $759 million in 2018, more than 50% better than their previous record. Every conference member is getting a big phat check for roughly $54 mil.
Of course when figures like these are announced, the cries from the Jay Bilas’s and the PC crowd begin anew: “We have to pay college athletes!” After all, they’re the primary reason people to pay attention to college sports, right? They should be financially compensated for their time and efforts!
This sentiment is all fine and good, provided you’re one of those who want to turn the upper levels of college sports into professional minor leagues, all but ditching the notion of “student athlete.”
If you want the Big Ten, SEC, etc to further separate from the majority of collegiate sports; if you want the rich to keep getting richer, and if you want the “non-Power Five” schools to get left even further behind, then by all means, let’s turn the Power Five into a full fledge minor league and have schools like Ohio State and Alabama simply become sponsors of their mercenary-led sports teams.
See, regardless of these revenue numbers, unless we go full on socialism here and share ALL this massive revenue equally among ALL the NCAA membership institutions, there’s no chance of any sort of financial equitability. Financial equitability and a “level playing field” go hand in hand. So, if you want the gap ON the field to get even more massive than it already is, by all means, start pushing for those Crimson Tide players to get put on salary.
Simply put: The non-power five schools will NEVER be able to afford to pay their student athletes any sort of “salary.” No chance, no how, no way.
A big part of this is that you cannot ever, legally, pay these proposed “salaries” to just football and men’s basketball players. If you want to play college football players, then you have to pay ALL college athletes. Every last one of them, male and female, regardless of the sport they play.
Starts to add up, doesn’t it? Sure the Big Ten schools can afford it. But what about the Mountain West schools? Or the Western Athletic Conference schools?
Maybe you can start to see the big picture here. I wish the Jay Bilas’s of the world, and everyone else who lives only in the Power Five bubble, would.
STRIKE TWO: I was really looking forward to being interviewed by Tanner Schwindt.
Sure, I’m on KFKA every Monday during The Hull Show with Brady and on Thursdays during Rockies Rundown. Yes, Tanner and I hosted that show a week ago. But this was going to be different. This time, I’d be wearing the uniform of the high school baseball team I coach, the Prospect Ridge Academy Miners, as we got set for a first round state play-off game against powerful University High.
It should have worked out that way. University finished first in the final RPI rankings, and we finished 32nd. The top 32 teams get in – or so we are told – and number one would host number 32. KFKA would have been there to broadcast the game to a large regional audience with Tanner doing the PbP.
It’s not happening that way, however. Administrators got in the way. We got bumped by a technicality.
For some inexplicable reason, Class 3A rules currently stipulate that the second place finisher in every 3A league gets an automatic bid. In this case, it was Middle Park, who finished 34th in RPI but finished second in the Frontier League. They took the spot that should have gone to PRA. They’ll get pummeled by University.
In our case, we play in the meat grinder 3A Metro League. I know NoCo fans believe that the Patriot League in the best in the state, but I’ll argue that. Last season, four of the final eight teams in the state tourney were from the Metro League. This year, our top seven teams finished in the top 24 of the RPI. Look for at least four Metro League teams to advance to the final eight once again.
Top to bottom, I believe our league is the best in the state. The lower half of our league is stronger than the lower half of the Patriot League. Prove me wrong.
We finished with a 12-11 record, playing nine teams that finished in the top 30 and beating three of them. We beat Patriot League member Estes Park 10-0 in five innings. Estes (#29) got in.
This is our third year of playing varsity baseball at PRA. We won three games each of our first two seasons. We’re still wet behind the ears as a baseball program. But these kids worked hard all off season and into the regular season. They accomplished a lot of school ‘firsts.’ They deserved that shot in the play-offs.
Not to say we’d have beaten University. That team is excellent and has every chance to win it all. We aren’t at their level yet. But we deserved the chance to measure ourselves against the states’ best.
But no, because of a ridiculous rule stipulation, we’re out. Keep in mind that the Frontier League already had two reps, Bennett (#17) and The Academy (#27.) Why does #34 Middle Park need to get rewarded then?
We’re certainly not the first (and won’t be the last) deserving high school team to be left out by an imperfect system. But it stinks that much worse when administrators get involved and screw it up even further. Simple solution: Have each league guaranteed two spots, period. That would solve this and have gotten what we earned.
Instead, I don’t get to be interviewed by Tanner. It stinks.
STRIKE ONE: Numbing.
That’s the best single word to describe it. The Denver Nuggets losing Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference semi-finals to the Portland Trailblazers…at home, after having a 3-2 series lead. After leading by 17 points in the first quarter. Smh.
The collapse has all the ear marks of a classic choke job. Many are calling it that. But that’s not accurate. That’s not exactly what happened. Not in this case.
There’s an old saying that “water finds its own level.” THAT’S what happened here. The Nuggets found their own level.
As currently constructed, these Nuggets are NOT the second best team in the Western Conference. (Golden State will demolish Portland in four or five games, just as they would have done to Denver.) Denver reached the heights they reached this season – 54 wins, finishing second overall in the conference standings, earning the second seed – not on raw talent. They were very well coached – and Michael Malone should collect the post season hardware to validate that – and they did what ALL Denver teams should do, they used their unmatched home court advantage. They had the best home record in the NBA. As they should.
They are very good…but to actually be one of the very best in the west, they still need to get better in terms of pure talent. They need a big time scorer.
Think about this: Their best player, Nikola Jokic, is a somewhat reluctant scorer. He’d much rather pass the ball and set up a teammate than he would shoot it himself. He proved that over and over again during the play-offs. Still, against Portland in the decisive game seven loss, Joker scored 29 points (he was the only Nugget to make a three point shot) and had just TWO assists. It sure wasn’t for a lack of passing.
For a player to get credit for an assist, the player who receives the pass has to make a shot. Other than Jokic, very few Nuggets – including hot and cold Jamal Murray – can be depended on to make a shot. Most nights, they’re the gang that can’t shoot straight (44% during the regular season. Not good.)
Yes, they’re still very young. The youngest team in the NBA. That IS a factor. Maturity should help down the road. But they’re still rolling out guys like Torrey Craig and Will Barton at the critical small forward position. That’s a spot where typically really good teams start guys named Durant, Leonard, George, or DeRozen…even James.
Ironically, the last time the Nuggets reached these kinds of play-off heights, small forward was their best position in terms of consistent scoring. Carmelo Anthony wasn’t a good passer, defender or rebounder, but the dude could put the ball in the hoop. Barton? Occasionally hot, most often not. Craig? Solid defender. Not a scorer.
If/when Denver gets a small forward who is a consistent scoring threat, someone who can take the focus off Jokic and Murray (who has trouble getting open looks at awful lot of the time) THEN they will be a threat to Golden State.
No, these Nuggets didn’t choke. They actually over achieved. They found their own (current) level. Now we sit back and see if they can raise that talent level over the summer.
Wanna argue? Hit me up on Twitter @MarkKnudson41.