Just stumbled into this article...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/andy_staples/01/24/oversigning/index.html
Whoa is my reaction. I guess I never really thought about discrepencies about recruiting scholarship players. I was shocked to see that many schools sign way more players than they are able to keep around on scholarship...this gives schools a bit of an advantage in terms of getting commits with no intention or keeping them all. This seems kind of dishonest to the students...oh, and the SEC is the biggest culprit. The Big 10 outlawed this practice in 1956!
I'm not saying I fully get it now...and maybe there is another angle to look at, but it doesn't seem right from an NCAA perspective of student-athlete. Obviously it's about using kids to the programs best interests, not the student-athletes. Also - football is the only sport with the exception! I do grant them the grace that injuries and academic ineligibilities happen, but come on! Check out the article - follow some of the links there...it's crazy!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
College Bowls wrapping up
So I have learned a few items over the course of this bowl season.
1. Traveling and seeing family makes it hard to really sit and watch football games, but it's worth it! Didn't even blink an eye at most of the bowl games I missed.
2. Certain games still matter though - I missed the Army-SMU game on TV, but had to follow it consistently on my phone's internet browser...even though I was with family!
3. Sometimes I really simply enjoy watching football. Last night, I watched the Miami (OH) vs. Middle Tennessee State game merely because it was football on TV, and soon the games will be gone. It was actually enjoyable even though I didn't know anyone on either team...still, it was football!
4. TCU and Boise State are the real deal...the so-called strength of big conferences is so overrated. A playoff, or at least a ranking by RECORD and not PERCEPTION is needed. True, not all strength of schedules are the same, but obviously the Big Ten and SEC East were not significantly better than the Moutain West or WAC schedules.
5. I'm tired of hearing bowl games make "every game matter." A lot of teams obviously were just at bowl games to have fun and enjoy it, and it was not a game that really "mattered." Good coaches got their teams to play, but others, not so much. Also, if every game really, truly mattered, then why do so many "big conference" schools schedule FBS or gimme-win games. Those games don't matter except that it is a W, and they can then hold to their strength of schedule in conference...which leads to...
6. There really does need to be a playoff. Not a 4 team playoff, but a real playoff. If conference champions, perhaps, were entered in a playoff, would not each and every conference game matter? Would teams not want to play, not easy-win teams, but teams from the other playoff conferences so they get a feel of that conferences style of play? Maybe not...I haven't thought this all through, but it seems that all factors point to a playoff except for the traditional people in bowl games who make the money...
7. Playoffs! The NFL playoffs start this weekend, and each game holds intrigue and hope for those teams. The way the season ended - those games which normally don't matter according to college football analysts, mattered this year! Playoff seedings and 3 teams went in down the wire. Divisional games and bragging rights were on the line. KC dropped a game and became a 4 seed...even the Steelers and Jets had to play because each seed matters so much. Now if only something can be done about a 7-9 team making the playoffs while 10-6, 9-7, and 8-8 teams sit at home. That's a whole other issue...but at least it is a playoff, so the Seahawks are in and playing for a shot!
8. Go Colts! Of course I'm biased, but I really do feel they are not a team you want to play right now. With SD missing the playoffs, I don't think they have any teams they normally don't play well against. I'd love to see the New England - Indy AFC Championship game again. Over in the NFC, I think it is a lot about matchups and each game could be a crap-shoot. I'd be cool with seeing New Orleans, Atlanta, or Chicago come out of that conference!
1. Traveling and seeing family makes it hard to really sit and watch football games, but it's worth it! Didn't even blink an eye at most of the bowl games I missed.
2. Certain games still matter though - I missed the Army-SMU game on TV, but had to follow it consistently on my phone's internet browser...even though I was with family!
3. Sometimes I really simply enjoy watching football. Last night, I watched the Miami (OH) vs. Middle Tennessee State game merely because it was football on TV, and soon the games will be gone. It was actually enjoyable even though I didn't know anyone on either team...still, it was football!
4. TCU and Boise State are the real deal...the so-called strength of big conferences is so overrated. A playoff, or at least a ranking by RECORD and not PERCEPTION is needed. True, not all strength of schedules are the same, but obviously the Big Ten and SEC East were not significantly better than the Moutain West or WAC schedules.
5. I'm tired of hearing bowl games make "every game matter." A lot of teams obviously were just at bowl games to have fun and enjoy it, and it was not a game that really "mattered." Good coaches got their teams to play, but others, not so much. Also, if every game really, truly mattered, then why do so many "big conference" schools schedule FBS or gimme-win games. Those games don't matter except that it is a W, and they can then hold to their strength of schedule in conference...which leads to...
6. There really does need to be a playoff. Not a 4 team playoff, but a real playoff. If conference champions, perhaps, were entered in a playoff, would not each and every conference game matter? Would teams not want to play, not easy-win teams, but teams from the other playoff conferences so they get a feel of that conferences style of play? Maybe not...I haven't thought this all through, but it seems that all factors point to a playoff except for the traditional people in bowl games who make the money...
7. Playoffs! The NFL playoffs start this weekend, and each game holds intrigue and hope for those teams. The way the season ended - those games which normally don't matter according to college football analysts, mattered this year! Playoff seedings and 3 teams went in down the wire. Divisional games and bragging rights were on the line. KC dropped a game and became a 4 seed...even the Steelers and Jets had to play because each seed matters so much. Now if only something can be done about a 7-9 team making the playoffs while 10-6, 9-7, and 8-8 teams sit at home. That's a whole other issue...but at least it is a playoff, so the Seahawks are in and playing for a shot!
8. Go Colts! Of course I'm biased, but I really do feel they are not a team you want to play right now. With SD missing the playoffs, I don't think they have any teams they normally don't play well against. I'd love to see the New England - Indy AFC Championship game again. Over in the NFC, I think it is a lot about matchups and each game could be a crap-shoot. I'd be cool with seeing New Orleans, Atlanta, or Chicago come out of that conference!
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