Cue the Bill Walton jokes
Big-time college sports are nothing like they used to be, and the changes have not been for the better. It's devolved into a collection of professional sports leagues whose owners don't pay taxes. Their players are teenagers, a lot of whom are being exploited. Nobody even pretends to care about education now. The universities are flat-out racing to the bottom, and to some extent they don't have a choice in the matter.
It's all about money, of course. And now legalized gambling is in the picture, front and center. You can bet there are many scandals ahead. It was never pure, but I'm happy I got to enjoy college athletics in a much more innocent time.
Gail Goodrich once commented, that when he was at USC, football changed after the school made the players go to class.
ReplyDeleteHeresy. Gail Goodrich and I both matriculated at UCLA, not that other school, in the Fall of '62. I had the privilege of being utterly embarassed as he faked me into the popcorn machine, when Polytechnic (Goodrich), played Van Nuys our senior year.
DeletePoorly worded. My bad. He was talking about USC.
DeleteCindi Lauper> Money changes everything...
ReplyDeleteDecades ago, Hugh MacElhenny took a cut in pay, after playing for UW, when he joined the Niners in SF.
DeleteCan you explain the Bill Walton jokes part for those of us not in on the meme?
ReplyDeleteSome people find Bill annoying. I for one, think he's extremely entertaining.
DeleteBill has played the role of drug-addled color commentator on Pac-12 basketball telecasts for some time now. He’s constantly ranting about the greatness of the Conference of Champions.
DeleteAtleast he is still relevant.
DeleteAtleast he is still relevant.
DeleteWhen Oregon leaves the Pac 12, the legislature should take the opportunity to exempt any any coach making more than 100K from participating in PERS.
ReplyDeleteOr, better yet, play the same card that the Regents of the University of California played with UCLA, being referred to as Cal-imony - depending on how much media revenue UC Berkeley gets after UCLA faffs off to the Big Ten, they get to subsidize Cal's athletics.
DeleteThe legislature should do the same with UO - chip off a piece of that $30M/year they're gonna get from the Big Ten to make sure that OSU doesn't revert back into Oregon Agricultural College from not being able to compete.
Ducks don't like it? Pick up the phone and call your sugar daddy Phil.