I love college sports, but if this is the double-standard these kids face, no thank you.
Now I don't have all the facts here. I don't claim to be a legal expert. But when I hear weekly of another college athlete, namely football players, in trouble for taking improper benefits, being in trouble for on-campus indiscretions, facing petty drug crime charges or actually facing allegations of actual serious crimes, I cannot help but think that this never seemed to be such a visible issue. Sure, we can blame much of that on social media. But the social media needs a culture to drive it and regurgitate it. Those stories of Jameis WInston stealing crab legs or Shabazz Napier saying he went hungry at night while at UConn were not actually stories. Ok, theft does end up in the police blotter, no matter how much Florida St. tries to cover up every crime and indiscretion. ALLEGEDLY. The fact is we are guilty of making big deals out of these usually small issues because even at 18-20 years old, these are guys and sometimes girls we put on a pedestal and assume that just because you can throw a football really well or run really fast, that makes you something other than a dumb kid. Now it comes out that a star player at Georgia might have received $400 for signing autographs from some sleazebag who tried the same scheme on other college stars who turned him down. This unlucky and dimwitted Georgia player might not play again this season as they investigate his sin. FOR $400 What a bunch of malarky! If he were treated fairly by his university and the cartel that is the NCAA he might not need anything from that autograph dealer. Or the same could be said about Shabazz Napier saying he went to bed hungry. The NCAA's regulations sort of put these kids in a bubble. You'll never be just like every other student, but if you do anything the least bit fun or infamous, it's all over tv. God forbid, you get in trouble. Now you stand to face two juries: the jury of international social media and then a jury of your peers.
I love college sports, but if this is the double-standard these kids face, no thank you.
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Michigan football was not in a good place this past week. Heck, it has not been in a good place all season. As a fan, I am just numb to it already. But I am not numb to what happened last weekend. In a home loss to lowly Minnesota, Michigan quarterback Shane Morris was taking a beating. He was noticeably limping from repeated shots to the leg which was certainly affecting his ability to make plays and get out out of the way of hits. Then this happened: Morris was hit in an ugly shot by a Minnesota tackler which the television announcer quickly denounced as targeting, which should have incurred a penalty, an ejection, and most likely a suspension. Instead, no one seemed to notice the hit including Michigan coaches as they left Morris out there to wobble and struggle. He proceeded to throw one more pass, then get pulled. However, when new quarterback Devin Gardner promptly lost his helmet on a play and had to sit out a play (per NCAA rules designed for SAFETY), there was Morris touted back in some kind of sick irony. The cameras even showed the 3rd-string quarterback getting quickly ready to enter for the play only to have a stream of miscommunication and then before you knew it Morris was back out for the play to hand off the ball.
But the damage was done. Not only was damage done to the man and his health, but to the state of precautionary safety in college football and to the coaching staff at one of college football's most hallowed institutions. The coaches all say they did not see the hit. How that is possible is questionable at best. But to then see a player struggling like Morris was physically and just assume he's good to stay in the game is awful. That could have cost him even more if he had been hit again! Brain injuries are not anything to make light of and the coaches at a school like Michigan should be at the cutting edge of the treatment, not the ass-end. Head Coach Brady Hoke says he didn't see the hit. Hopefully he sees it coming when he is terminated. Maybe not this season and maybe not directly due to this lapse of leadership and sense, but it will come eventually. I just hope he doesn't turn a blind eye to that too., It was often joked at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina that the fall is just another time to wait for and ask when basketball season is coming. The Duke men's basketball team under coach Mike Krzyzewski has set a standard for programs across the country with their continued success, excellent student-athlete reputation, and graduates who have gone pro. In fact, it is with that success that Krzyzewski has reached the heights that he has winning over 903 career games and has set the record for Division I men's career coaching wins. With all the success, the football program at Duke has rarely made a blip on the radar. And then came Coach David Cutcliffe. Cutcliffe came to Duke in 2007after years of success in major college football as a head coach and offensive coordinator having groomed such quarterbacks as Heath Shuler, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Erik Ainge,Thaddeus Lewis, and Sean Renfree. Those Six quarterbacks whom Cutcliffe coached in college went on to play in the NFL, while Todd Helton and Seth Smith both of Major League Baseball were QBs under Cutcliffe in their college football days. His pedigree was going to have to work wonders as Duke had for years been a football laughingstock after some rather prestigious years decades earlier. "The program has 17 conference championships (7 ACC championships and 10 Southern Conference titles), 53 All-Americans, 10 ACC Players of the Year (the most in the ACC), and have had three Pro Football Hall of Famers come through the program (second in the ACC to only Miami's four) ("Colleges"). Although Duke has mostly struggled since the mid-1960s, the Blue Devils are currently undergoing a renaissance under Cutcliffe. Duke is the defending Coastal Division champion, having secured their first division title on November 30, 2013 with a win over arch-rival North Carolina. Additionally, the Blue Devils cracked the top 20 of the BCS standings, the AP Poll, and the Coaches' Poll during the 2013 season" However in more recent seasons, Duke had serious trouble winning. "From 1999 to 2007, Duke's football win-loss record was at 13–90; from 2000 to 2001 Duke suffered a 22-game losing streak". That's when Cutcliffe was hired."Cutcliffe was hired as Duke's 22nd all-time head football coach to lead the Blue Devils football program in late 2007 (Baker & Rucker, 2007). Duke went 4–8 in 2008 and Duke's 2009 season was a 5–7 campaign, the closest the school had come to bowl eligibility since 1994 (Robinson III, 2009). Cutcliffe's Duke teams had back-to-back 3-9 seasons in 2010 and 2011. Duke's 2012 team, despite low preseason expectations, after a 33–30 win against rival North Carolina became bowl eligible for the first time since 1994 (Carter, 2012). Extending its season to December 27, 2012, Duke fell to Cincinnati 48–34 in a close contest in the Belk Bowl, finishing the season with a 6–7 record (Associated Press, 2012).
Duke's 2013 season was a break-out year for the team, as the Blue Devils have continued to cross off many of their infamous losing streaks. On October 26, 2013, Duke achieved its first win over a ranked team since 1994 with a 13–10 victory over #14 Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA, a rarity for the Duke football program (Associated Press, 2013). That win over Virginia Tech was also Duke's first road win over a ranked team since 1971 (Martin, 2013). Following a bye week, on November 9, 2013 the Blue Devils achieved their first winning season since 1994 with a 38–20 home victory over in-state rival NC State, (Associated Press, 2013) their seventh of the season. Extending its winning streak to 6 straight by defeating #24 Miami 48–30 on November 16, 2013, Duke appeared in the AP Poll for the first time since 1994, listed at #25 with a record of 8–2 ("The AP Top 25 Poll", 2013). With a win at Wake Forest on November 23, 2013, Duke claimed its ninth victory in a regular season for the first time since 1941, the season in which the Blue Devils hosted the Rose Bowl. The win also gave Duke at least a share of the Coastal Division title and a #24 AP Poll ranking ("The AP Top 25 Poll", 2013). With a 27–25 win over North Carolina on November 30, 2013, Duke locked up their first 10-win season in school history, the Coastal Division title, and a spot in the 2013 ACC Championship Game against Florida State, during which time Duke was ranked #20. David Cutcliffe received the Walter Camp Coach of the Year award in 2013 (Duke Sports Information, 2013). The Blue Devils were invited to the Chick-fil-A Bowl, where they lost another close, hard-fought game 52–48 to Texas A&M to finish the season with a record of 10–4 ("Johnny Manziel, Aggies rally, edge Duke in Chick-fil-A Bowl.", 2013)." The traditions are forming under Cutcliffe and the wins are coming. Perhaps Duke can form a winning program in the mold of Notre Dame, Stanford, and Brigham Young before them, winning because of their rigorous academic standards rather than in spite of them. Time will tell, but the future is bright for the Blue Devils. And it isn't even basketball season yet. References Baker, M., & Rucker, B. (2007, December 15). Source: Duke hires Cutcliffe. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Carter, A. (2012, October 21). Late touchdown lifts Duke to 33-30 win over UNC. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Colleges. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2014, from http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/colleges.aspxDuke Sports Information. (2013, December 6). Cutcliffe Named National Coach of the Year. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Johnny Manziel, Aggies rally, edge Duke in Chick-fil-A Bowl. (2013, December 31). Retrieved September 15, 2014. Martin, N. (2013, October 28). Record-setting day leads to historic win for Duke football. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Press, A. (2012, December 27). Cincinnati shocks Duke with 83-yard TD pass with 44 seconds left. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Press, A. (2013, October 26). Duke picks off Logan Thomas 4 times, upsets No. 14 Virginia Tech. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Press, A. (2013, November 9). Blue Devils beat Wolfpack 38-20 for 7th win. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Robinson III, E. (2009, November 11). Local & North Carolina state news from Raleigh, NC | NewsObserver.com. Retrieved September 15, 2014. The AP Top 25 Poll. (2013, November 17). Retrieved September 15, 2014. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Blue_Devils_football#cite_note-57
As for some of Week 2's scores, here are some of the scores of the above games:
Doesn't seem very competitive, does it? The teams agree to schedule these games because one side gets money and gets to play on major cable television. The other gets an (often) easy win and a chance to play a game or two with less tension to ease young players into the season. It isn't as easy as agreeing not to schedule FCS schools; some FBS schools are probably worse than the best FCS school and there will always be payouts to be given to teams looking for an easy game against a bad FBS team. In the end, the financial constraints of modern college athletic programs will probably dictate that some schools will always be willing to fall on the sword to better afford more smaller sports for their student-athletes. References Press, A. (2014, August 30). FCS champion Bison stun Cyclones, extend FBS win streak to 5. Retrieved September 15, 2014. ESPN.com services. (2013, February 13). Big Ten won't be playing FCS teams. Retrieved September 15, 2014. Michigan Wolverines vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Box Score. (2014, September 6). Retrieved September 15, 2014. Oregon scores final 28, buries Michigan St. (2014, September 6). Retrieved September 15, 2014. TD Staff Reporter. (2014, May 28). Will Muschamp Does Not Want To Play FCS Teams. Retrieved September 15, 2014. |