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By Marc Lawrence
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Wednesday, Feb 18 |
College football has pretty much become the wild west.
The NCAA has seemingly lost all power to enforce any of its rules and fans are increasingly fearful that the game they love is becoming unrecognizable.
But does the sport need a commissioner? And is three-time national champion Urban Meyer the man for the job? That’s the question Colin Cowherd asked Meyer on The Herd, and Meyer answered it with an emphatic “no.”
Meyer said that he believes his longtime rival Nick Saban would be a better man for the job since he’s already expressed some interest in the idea. But he feels that the sport needs more enforcement, not more rules.
“I would not,” Meyer said. “I should’ve asked Coach Saban on the third hole or fourth hole the other day if he’d be interested. I would imagine not, but who knows? I know he loves the game, and we spent a lot of that day talking about how to improve it. And the only comment I would say is that you’re going to need agreement for everybody to go and collaborate and say we’re going to actually listen. Because right now, the last thing that college football needs is more rules.”
“The rules are in place. Now they’re not enforced. So, it’s like a big city where all of a sudden you have laws that no one’s enforcing. It’s chaos. College football is chaos right now, and it’s not because we need more laws or more rules; the more the rules are in place. You’re not allowed to tamper, you’re not allowed to spend over this amount of money. You’re not allowed to do this and that, but people do it, and there’s no recourse.
But to say we need more rules, every rule is in place right now to have a functioning game behind the scenes, but there’s no enforcement. Zero.”
Now we’re at a point where the only difference between an amateur and a professional football player is language on paper. The fact that the NCAA hasn’t been completely stripped of all power and money might be better than they can ask for. But the sport of college football itself has simply grown too big for the NCAA and the handful of college conferences that control it. Sooner or later, someone needs to step in and take command or the entire thing will fall apart.
Like yesterday. |
ON TODAY'S SCORECARD
A Different Point of View
To hear billionaire businessman Mark Cuban tell it, the NBA doesn't actually have a tanking problem, as commissioner Adam Silver outlined during his All-Star press conference over the weekend.
Rather, in Cuban's opinion, the league has a fan experience problem on its hands.
In a lengthy post on X on Tuesday morning, the Mavericks minority owner outlined why he believes the NBA should actually "embrace" tanking, and instead turn its focus toward improving "affordability and quality of game presentation."
The NBA is "in the business of creating experiences for fans," Cuban argued. "Few can remember the score from the last game they saw or went to. They can’t remember the dunks or shots. What they remember is who they were with. Their family, friends, a date. That’s what makes the experience special."
Fans know losses are a part of that equation, he added, but they still want that hope that their favorite team will eventually have a chance at improving and competing for a ring.
The "one way to get closer to that is via the draft. And trades. And cap room," he went on. But "you have a better chance of improving via all three when you tank."
With that in mind, "the NBA should worry more about fan experience than tanking. It should worry more about pricing fans out of games than tanking."
Cuban also said that, although the Mavs didn't tank often, their fans appreciated it when they did, because it put the team in a position to improve.
Why the NBA should embrace tanking -
“The NBA has been misguided thinking that fans want to see their teams compete every night with a chance to win. It’s never been that way that way.When I got into the NBA, they thought they were in the basketball business,” Cuban said on Tuesday.
If Cuban were in charge, though, it sounds like he thinks the league would be better served to abandon its efforts re: effort and focus solely on getting fans to come back again and again. |
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GRINDING OUT THE PROFITS
That’s What I’m Talking About
NBA ALL STAR BREAK
Personal message from Victor King, author of the Playbook Football Totals Tipsheet and contributor to NBA DAY-TO-DAY TRENDS & O/U BEST PLAYS in the weekly Playbook Hoops Newsletter –
“Thanks to all who joined us last Sunday for the WINNER (17/1 odds!) Anthony Edwards: All-Star Game MVP!”
From the current
Playbook Hoops Newsletter
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STAT OF THE DAY
10,549 |
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The Florida Panthers set an all-time Stanley Cup Final record
for time spent leading in a series last season, a total of
2 hours, 55 minutes, 49 seconds, or 10,549 seconds.
The two-time defending champions would miss
the playoffs if the postseason
started today. |
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TRENDING TODAY
Bubblicious |
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We’re inside a month until Selection Sunday.
A key milestone looms Saturday with the men’s selection committee’s top 16 reveal, an early look at where many of the best teams in the sport stand that can give some hints as to things the committee values most this season.
Before then, we have a busy week of games ahead, many of which have substantial bracket implications.
What’s the latest in the field of 68 after a chaotic weekend of action? Here’s Sports Illustrated’s latest projected field.
On the Bubble...
Last Four Byes
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Texas A&M
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USC
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Saint Mary’s
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Georgia
Last Four In
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UCLA
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San Diego State
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Santa Clara
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TCU
First Four Out
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Missouri
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New Mexico
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VCU
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Ohio State
Next Four Out
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Virginia Tech
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West Virginia
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Cal
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Seton Hall
Two SEC teams drop into the last four byes in the midst of losing skids: Texas A&M after four straight losses is now our eighth team clear of the cut line, while Georgia after dropping five of six is now just four spots clear after getting blown out by Oklahoma. Georgia, in particular, could be in trouble given a bottom-30 nonconference schedule and a tough SEC slate down the stretch.
The new last team in: TCU. The Horned Frogs beating Iowa State last week gives them two monster wins having already beaten Florida in November, and winning at Oklahoma State over the weekend also helps a bit. Having a Quad 3 and a Quad 4 loss already makes TCU’s margin for error razor thin though.
One team to monitor is West Virginia, which added another Quad 1 win Saturday at UCF. West Virginia has four Quad 1 wins, no losses outside of the top two quadrants and a very manageable schedule down the stretch to push toward 20-plus wins. Metrics aren’t kind to West Virginia at the moment, and the Mountaineers’ nonconference schedule was one of the worst in the country which won’t help. But after being the first team out of last year’s Big Dance, it’s easy to root for West Virginia to find its way on the right side of the bubble this time around. |
QUOTE OF THE DAY |
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"There is only one thing more important
than logic: imagination."
- Alfred Hitchcock |
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