The NCAA cries “wolf!”

If, as the NCAA has claimed throughout its history, people only watch college sports because the players aren’t paid, why doesn’t the real world demonstrate that?  (For that matter, why does the organization keep moving the goal posts?)

The latest example of reality calling bullshit:

So what should we expect to see when college basketball tips off next month?

If you believe the NCAA’s “amateurism” hypothesis, it’s now clear that many of the best athletes in college basketball were paid by third parties to play for their AAU teams, and many were also paid to choose a school based on the shoe company those schools have contract with, so the inescapable result is that consumer demand for college basketball will plummet because of systemic payment above the magic line that was not kept under control by rigorous NCAA enforcement efforts.

Once again, the “Amateurism is Essential” argument will be put to the test. Be ready for it, because if the NCAA is correct, then College Basketball May Die Next Month. People might boycott in droves. And if so, the elusive magical line will finally have been found.

Care to take any bets on that happening?  I didn’t think so.

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Apocalypse When?

Wisconsin chancellor’s threat made during her Alston testimony that the school could drop its athletics program if it has to start paying student-athletes was sufficiently over-the-top such that the athletic department felt the need to walk it back in an official statement denying that the school had any intention of shuttering it.

They’re probably the only people on the planet who took her seriously in the first place.

Meow, brother

One more thing as a follow up to my post yesterday about that anonymous poll of coaches that seemed to be tilted — pure coincidence, no doubt — against African-American head coaches.

As Bruce Feldman ($$) notes,

Said one of the anonymous coaches of Taggart: “He was only at Oregon for one year, and it’s not like he really transformed that program — and that’s a place that’s won for a long time. Not that he isn’t good — he’s won. But usually when you get a job like Florida State, it’s because you’ve won some championships or done something really amazing.”

The guy Taggart followed at FSU, Jimbo Fisher, had never coached a game before he got the job replacing Bobby Bowden.

Well, in its own way, isn’t that really amazing?

“I didn’t treat him any different than any other person…”

I’m calling bullshit on this one.

[Powell, Ohio Police Chief Gary] Vest has strongly disputed any suggestion his force handled accusations with leniency because Smith was an Ohio State football coach. Vest doesn’t even like sports — he’s never watched an entire football game in his life, he said — and said he was unaware of Smith’s connection to the Buckeyes until the case drew widespread attention.

“Until the media decided Zach Smith’s link to Ohio State was important, I had blinders on,” Vest said.

Powell is a suburb of Columbus, and I’d wager pretty good money that even if the chief isn’t much of a football fan, he’s bound to have somebody on his staff who knew darn well where Zach Smith worked.

Beyond that, though, let’s not forget that Smith wasn’t shy about identifying his career to officers when he was arrested before:

The report said “Zach advised (officers) he works for UF Florida Gators as an assistant coach for the football team…

But this time, Smith decided to keep that little tidbit to himself?  Right.

Corch isn’t the only one trying to cover his ass from this fiasco.

Corch takes the wheel.

Here we go.

pic.twitter.com/wrlRi9jtZz

— Urban Meyer (@OSUCoachMeyer) August 3, 2018

Well, I was wrong.

No, not about him lying at Big Ten media days that he didn’t know anything about what happened with the Smiths in 2015.  Or about being a sanctimonious bullshitter.  Or about not going without a fight.

Not even about having to throw somebody under the bus to save his ass.

But I got the somebody wrong.  I figured he would talk his loyal wife into taking one for the team in the name of plausible deniability.  Instead, his story now is that he followed the usual protocols when he learned of it and reported it “to the proper channels”, i.e. his boss at Ohio State.  So it’s Gene Smith, instead, who’s smelling the diesel exhaust fumes up close and personal.

Now there’s a lot there that doesn’t pass the smell test, particularly the fiction he invents about why he wasn’t honest at Big Ten media days.  Regardless, Corch wants his job or in the alternative every penny he’s got coming under his contract and he just served notice he won’t go quietly.

The big issue now is whether there’s a paper trail with the higher ups at Ohio State.  If there really is, Urban ain’t the only one who’ll be shown the door.  You get the feeling this won’t end pretty for somebody.

*************************************************************************

UPDATE:  Zach Smith is backing Urban’s play.

Zach Smith says he got a call from Gene Smith in October 2015 about ex-wife's allegations. "They (OSU) handled it exactly how they should have handled it. The police alerted them. They investigated it, and there were no criminal charges."

— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) August 3, 2018

The inevitable official statement coming from Ohio State is going to make for an interesting read.

Today, in plain speaking

It’s gonna be hard to top this one:

Dan Mullen addresses off field issues with his Florida Gators—including players spotted with bb guns painted to look real and an actual, loaded AR-15 “I have a no-weapons policy, but I think — it’s not like you’re not allowed to have a gun.” https://t.co/8gHHqQrBgu

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 2, 2018

The only way I can parse that sentence for it to have any logical sense is to say he means that a gun isn’t a weapon… well, unless he means that he, Dan Mullen, has a no-weapons policy personally, but that doesn’t extend to his players.

Ah, hell.  I give up.

“By this measure, we’re achieving unmatched success.”

Suddenly, it makes sense.  Larry Scott is making the big bucks because he pumps out the bullshit better than any other P5 commissioner.

“There are different ways to measure success in college sports,” Scott said, snuggly wearing his salesman’s cap during Wednesday’s Pac-12 Media Day. “The scorecard we think matters, and that I know our university presidents and athletics directors care about most is academic and athletic excellence across all sports.

Hell, he probably deserves a raise for saying that with a straight face.