Just get over it..

My least favorite quote in the world is "just get over it".  Everyone around the world has problems, issues, or situations that they have to overcome and the best way friends or enemies choose to tell their friends or enemies how to handle something is to simply say "just get over it".  How does this apply to sports? i can give you two major examples.  The first one: USC GOT SCREWED by the NCAA. The University of Miami got a slap on the wrist by the NCAA for its lavish scandal.  For almost a decade players, coaches in multiple sports received impermissible benefits from a booster which is at the core of almost every NCAA investigation.  The school imposed its own sanctions and because they cooperated with NCAA officials only lost 9 scholarships to its football program. The coach of the basketball team who coaching at another university now got a 5 game suspension. The matter is now history.  The NCAA threatened that they may impose the death penalty for the violations by the school.  All they got was a slap on the wrist. USC lost 30 scholarships, lost prestige, prominence, a coach who couldn't overcome the sanctions and have floundered over the last 3 years.  The people involved with the scandal lost a Heisman trophy and banishment from the school. They have been trying to pick up the pieces ever since. To make matters worse, Penn State was rewarded for its compliance with the NCAA and are going to start to get scholarships back as early as next year.  USC was not given a chance to "suck up" or kiss ass to get scholarships back. I guess they pissed off the wrong compliance officer. I guess because they tried to defend themselves and that was a bad thing. I guess they knew that Reggie Bush and O.J. Mayo was getting benefits and so they had no right to defend their "lack" of knowledge. What a joke. But I guess USC NEEDS to GET OVER IT.  They can't sue the NCAA for unfair litigation. The NCAA governs itself.  They have fired or had several officers resign over the last five years. The NCAA has punished players for selling their jerseys for tattoos, They have ended a players career for having dinner with Deion Sanders. Just get over it.. Right?
The second one is Steve Bartman.  Bartman is a lifelong Cub fan who needs to come out of hiding  and be human again.  The Cubs just stink. They think the hiring Theo Epstein is going o change their luck and win a world series.  The blame Bartman for interfering with Moises Alou chance for catching a foul ball.  Every fan would have done the same thing. Every fan has done the same thing since the beginning of time. The Cubs haven't won a world series in over 100 years.  Bartman, the billy goat, the black cat, make the story sexy and silly. Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg, Andre Dawson were once in a lifetime players and couldn't deliver the goods.  Sammy Sosa couldn't either.  They burned out Kerry Wood and Mark Prior.  CUB FANS need to GET OVER IT and leave Bartman alone. They need to realize that everyday they wake up they can change the course of their lives with their own actions. Bartman is still in hiding 10 years after this fiasco. GET OVER IT!!! Let him come home. Red Sox fans and the media forgave Buckner for his blunder in the 86 series. Buckner was a Cub too..

Ncaa makes me sick

I absolutely hate guys like Johnny Manzell. I am going to misspell his name thought this piece because I don't respect him at all.  He is a spoiled brat who gets his way because he has affluence, and because he has the right people in the "old boys network" who protect him. Are we going to hear 5 years from now that he actually took money and since no one could prove it manzeil could get away with it? Is he another Lance Armstrong, Ryan Braun, Pete Rose? Guys who knew they did wrong and make the public sympathize with them and then burn us in the end?  Don't you just want to put a uniform on and cheap shot him for rubbing this in all of our faces?  He goes to the super bowl, the heat game, hangs out with celebs, signs thousands of autographs for free allegedly. At first everyone was writing articles and said have compassion for Manzel because he is 20 and he doesn't no any better. Even he gave a press conference and expressed his hope that people would understand  that he is a little 20 year old rich kid who can have things that most people his age can't.  He shows up at a Texas frat party and thinks that they care going to roll out the red carpet for him. They should let him get drunk and tied him up to a tree.
This decision bothers me because Terrell Pryor, A.j. Green and Dez Bryant paid a big cost for doing something as egregious as manzelll. Those three guys mistake was they had a money trail. Dez Bryant lost his eligibility because he had lunch with Deion Sanders. He got no money. He got a sandwich and some fries and his college career was over. Football players at North Carolina were suspended because they were at a party where some known agents were at. Manzelle was in a room signing autographs where somebody got money for his time. I am outraged that on the day that Dr.King said 50 years ago how he wished he kids could grow up in a world where his two kids could be judged by the content of their character not the color of their skin. Where is the equality? Are we that naive?
Also stop saying athletes need to be paid.. Division 1 athletes get more perks, advantages, hook ups than professional athletes. They get free books, education, best dorms, best girls, they rarely pay for food, alcohol. They get free sneakers, clothing, jackets,. They get into every party, bar, club, strip club usually for free. What don't they get? When they go to bowl games they get a gift bag like they are going to the Oscars. They get play station, x-box, beats head phones, plus other goodies. Yes I get it. They don't have an opportunity to find a job.  They can in the off season. They get a stipend as well. No one who plays the game complains. I went to a 1aa school for football. The athletes  owned Amherst. UMass basketball team. Say that to a bouncer in Amherst and they have nightmares. 
I am simply appalled that the NCAA suspended him for a half off a game. Who cares about Rice University or Sam Houston st which is the next game? To me they destroy people. They punish people for being slick. If Manziel isn't being slick I don't what is...

Athlete says what most probaly are thinking

Finally someone says the sad truth..

Today I heard a college athlete at a "prestigiuos" athletic university say something that I am sure that most people in this country think. Cardele Jones, third string quarterback at Ohio St. University is being quoted as saying," why should we have to go to class if we came here to play football, we aint come here to play school, classes are pointless"!!! Now I added the exclamation points for emphasis. Clearly most people will point out the poor word choice and lack of grammatical integrity in his statement as a reason why he needs to go to school. The fact remains though many people around the college athletic profession I am certain have heard that sentiment. Most of these athletes are not going to college to get an education. They are going to school to enhance their ability to play professional sports. The unfortuneate reality is that not everyone gets an opportunity to play professional sports.

Espn aired a documentary called "broke" this week and the timing of the statement could not be better to explain why you need a college degree. Most young athletes think that they are going to be rich forever when they sign that contract and it is not the case. The NBA and NFL have put rules in place that limit the amount of money the rookies can make and have made contract improvements or raises only implemented after 3 or 4 years in each league. Gone are the days when a rookie can come into the league and get a 8 year, 60 million dollar contract. The new collective bargaining agreement has put a crimp into that. What Mr. Jones does not realize that is the average NFL career is 3and 1/2 years and the only money that is guranteed is a signing bonus. There are several sad tales of athletes who got paid under the old system and don't have any money left to live off of because of frivilous and loose spending. Iam not going to name names, but ESPN put out a list of athletes who filed for bankruptcy over the past 15 years and the list is shocking. Not everyone is Shaquille Oneal, Micheal Jordan or Cal Ripken. LLife does not end after your athletic career is over. You need to be able to take care of yourself and you family beyond your twenties and thirties.

Universities are now being punished for not graduating players. The NCAA passed a rule a couple of years ago that if you are below standards, you will not be able to play in the NCAA basketball tournament or benefit financially from the success of that. Some people speculate that Connecticut being placed on that list for this upcoming season is one of the reasons why Jim Calhoun retired. I laugh at the basketball portion of the NCAA because they allow for athletes to leave college when they 19 years old to pursue professional careers. Most athletes that know that they are going to leave school early stop going to class after spring break or the NCAA tournament. Why should they go to class if they know that next year they are not going to be there right?

YOU need to go to class young fella!!! Most adults will tell you the hardest part about life is that nothing last forever and you have to spend a lot of your life re-inventing yourself and finding out ways to earn money. The documentary "broke" showed the after affects of playing football for some of these guys because they were not only financially "broke", but spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically "broke" as well. Enjoy being a young man. Enjoy learning about life instead being forced to live life. I hope someone can reach him and tell him that he is one tackle in practice away from working at a clothing store or McDonalds. There is nothing wrong with those jobs, but I gurantee you he did not go Ohio St. to do that.

Penn State Penalties excessive

It has taken me a while to formulate a conclusion as to what I feel about the entire Penn St. scandal.  I remember when I was doing my radio show when the story broke last year, i commented how I hoped that the story does not become more about  Joe Paterno than Jerry Sandusky or the victims.  We live in world where hyperbole and innuendo rule. You are guilty without due process and you have to spend the rest of your life denying and defending your actions no matter what you do and to whom.  No one is supposed to be above the law, but no one is supposed to beneath it either.  Penn St. was punked by the NCAA.  They took this punishment because they wanted to close this chapter and move on.  The punishment is worse than the death penalty.  When SMU got the death penalty no one cared because they were an aberration.  Penn St. has standing and pedigree.  I am appalled at the public's outrage and I will tell you why.
In November of 1995, I was blessed to have a memorable sporting experience. I went to Happy Valley, Pa. towatch Penn St. play Michigan in an important game that had Big Ten title implications.  The game was marred because the student body was throwing snow balls all over the field and Joe Paterno got on the Microphone and told the students to stop throwing snowballs and the place went wild.  I stayed to the very end because I wanted to take in what I deemed as real college football.  I was pelted several times with snowballs.  I did not care.  I was at a college football mecca.  I will never forget that weekend or that day and I am glad that I had that experience.  93,000 strong during one of the worst snow storms that area had ever seen, cheering on these two legendary teams.
I am disgusted with what Jerry Sandusky did to those children.  I am disgusted that the two people who allegedly saw him do what he did not kick his ass and take him to the cops immediately. I am disgusted that NO adult dialed three little numbers and him arrested.  I am disgusted that the first time that this brought to the attention of the the authorities the case was not pursued and he was allowed to continue on doing what he was doing.  We trust people in power to protect us and do the right thing.  We trust everyday that we drop our kids off to school, that someone there will do anything to protect them and teach them right from wrong. I did not want to write about this story because I don't want to engage in the blame game. Blaming anyone is not going to give back the dignity, virtue, and power that tese youngsters have lost. Sandusky will die in jail and that is his punishment for eternity. 
My problem with what the NCAA did yesterday is that it has dumped truck enough dirt on Joe Paterno's grave than is on any beach here in sunny California.  Hearing Bobby Bowden, make comments makes me sick.  Florida St. during his tenure was in the news for criminal activity how many times? Mark May or any other of the talking hairdos at Espn making their comments makes me fully understand why athletes and coaches don't like talking to the press.  Joe Paterno was told not to speak out and allow due process to take place.  People have this perception that speaking out all of the timeis the right thing to do.  Look what ithas done to George Zimmerman.  Every time he does an interview, he just continues to add to the fire that he shot Trayvon Martin unjustifiably. Joe Paterno admits that he should have gone to the police himself.  He admits regret for not keeping Sandusky off the campus of Penn St.  He did what is required by code in telling his superiors of what he had learned.  What about the case that was going against Sandusky before the shower incident?  Why is that case being treated as it never happened?  What about the coach and janitor who actually witnessed these action?  The Freeh report and the summation by the NCAA was all done without consulting with all parties to find out what they did or did not do.  Where is the due process?  Penn State took the high road and riding that road into the dark night.  Joe Paterno gave 60 years of his life to the school.  He donated millions of dollars to the school.  Does the school plan to refund his family the money that he gave personally to the school?  Taking his statue down, plaques that indicate everything that he stood for, are not going to make people forget about this case.  Now most of you know that i am an avid sports fan of all sports.  Now you see why I am always pro athelete.  What ever you do in life can be erased as fast as you did it in the first place.  Legacy and hall of fame stuff means nothing.  That is why people do steroids, cheat in nascar and boxing, and why Dana White gets allof the money in MMA.  No one cares..  We are here today for today.  Tomorrow is just another eight letter word. Penn St. starts a new chapter.  Would you want to go there?  I wouldn't.  They just showed me what the real world is all about.  You are guilty until proven innocent.  That is today's modern due process....

No Clue At All

What can I say about the NCAA that has not been said before. When I was growing in my teen years, the NCAA slapped programs down like they were an annoying friend. They did it without malice and discrimination. If you got caught cheating, stealing, lying, embarrassing the NCAA you got sanctioned so hard that it would take years for you to get back up again. Ask the University of Kentucky basketball program, Southern Methodist University football program, Auburn University football program just to name a few. Right now Florida St. University is being made to forfeit games because of a campus wide cheating scandal that has rocked the school. Athletes from different disciplines were caught and everyone is affected. University of Memphis is under investigation because an unnamed player apparently didn't take his own ACT test or SAT test. The NCAA doesn't play and you better not take them lightly.
When Oklahoma ST. wide receiver Dez Bryant had lunch and spent some time with Deion Sanders, I bet he thought he was the man, the myth and the legend. The great "prime time" showing an interest in him must have made him feel beyond special. Deion had mentored Devin Hester while he was at Miami and Hester is now an elite player. When the NCAA asked him what he and Deion were doing together, Bryant lied because he feared that he did something wrong. Deion has no affiliation with Oklahoma St. at all. They split the food bill and he did not receive any benefits other than knowledge from one of the greatest college and pro football players ever to live. So they NCAA gave him a chance to defend himself and explain why he lied. They were not satisfied and now Bryants' career is over even though the school is appealing on his behalf. What kind of message is this sending around college athletics is an obvious one: Don't Lie!! But to suspend the young man for a year and basically tell him to go pro is the wrong message. Now Bryant is an unbelievable talent so he will be okay in the end, but what if he wasn't going to be a first round pick? Earlier this year a running back on the University of Oregon's football team slugged a player on Boise St. after an embarrassing loss and he was later suspended for the remainder of the season by his University. The coach has recently started to have a change of heart and the running back may be reinstated back to the team next month. The NCAA stayed out of the situation and allowed the University of Oregon to handle the mess. I thought a full season suspension was unwarranted because he was taunted by the Boise St. player and thought that the Boise ST. player should have been suspended too. Nothing happened to him and the NCAA stayed away from that too. I do not condone lying under any circumstance but the guy did nothing wrong. If he did do something wrong, he has already missed 4 games. Enough is enough. The NCAA usually gives athletes the benefit of the doubt in most circumstances. There are several athletes that apply for the medical redshirts or sixth year eligibility and most of the athletes get that chance. The NCAA is supposed to be there for the athletes. So a guy who nearly started a riot by throw a punch as a sore loser is going to get a chance to play and a guy who had lunch (which is legal) is done for the year.
Also this cheating scandal at Florida ST. has nothing to do with Bobby Bowden or any other coach at the school. Why is he punished because the indiscretion of several immature students? I know in the past that Florida St. had a scandal where a couple of players grabbed a few hundred dollars worth of stuff and paid very little for them. The players were suspended then reinstated after they payed back the money. FREE SHOES UNIVERSITY was what they were called after that by then Florida Coach Steve Spurrier. Bowden didn't forfeit any games then did he? They won the national championship later that year too.
I guess that NCAA would rather avoid creating a playoff system that crowns a true champion.. another topic on another day..