College football and basketball players shouldn't get a cut of TV revenue

I have the day off today, and it's raining, so I decided to check on my baby (i.e. this blog).  I'm not sure what happened yesterday, but my blog stats went through the roof!  Well, in an effort to not neglect you all and to stay focused on this endeavor, I took a quick look at ESPN.com and found a poll that struck a cord with me...  I figured I'd get your thoughts.

While I was surfing the net, I came across a Sports Nation poll asking whether college football and basketball players should receive a cut of their schools' TV revenue.  Below is a picture of the current results.

If you know me at all and/or have been following this blog, you know how much I appreciate money...  Initially when I read this questions, I jumped to YES for my answer.  I thought to myself, why shouldn't they get paid?  The athletes contribute to the program and as stars of the team they draw ratings...  However, I started to think the question through and realized that there are many other issues that need to be considered.

1.  Not all colleges/universities have the following (i.e. storied history) to attract viewers, ratings, and TV numbers.  Some school are simply too small and don't produce quality teams consistently enough to land the TV deals.  Growing up, I heard all the Notre Dame jokes about their teams playing in a "cereal bowl", but their fan base is loyal. 

2.  While an athlete might be incredibly talented, the focus of amateur athletics should be education.  If these individuals want to be paid as professionals then they need to take it up with the National Football Players Association (NFLPA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) regarding age restrictions etc.  ****  I'm not going to research the particularities in this matter, but I've argued with former players about this matter in the past, and I think age restrictions are lame.  Caveat emptor (i.e. let the buyer be ware).  If a team is willing to risk its money on a very young prospect, it should be its right.

3.  I don't want to hear about how the athletes need the money.  More or less everyone in college and even adulthood will argue that they "need the money".  That argument doesn't hold any water.

Out of curiosity, I specifically checked the stats for Ohio.  I'm from Ohio and Ohio generally makes the "final" decision when it comes to who becomes President and other decisions.  Further, it's the Midwest - middle America, and therefore more or less "average".  Needless to say, when I checked, Ohio was split 50-50...

Just some thoughts from a girl who's too lazy to head out in the rain...

THE WIRK

Tell me why you don't like the NBA ~ I'm honestly curious

I have a lot of friends who don't like the NBA.  I always find this interesting, but different strokes for different folks.  We all don't have to like the same things.  However, I am curious.  For those of you that say that you, "Hate the NBA", I was wondering why.  Did you use to like the NBA during the Jordan years and now that he's gone, you don't care anymore?  Do you think the athletes get paid too much and are spoiled?  Do you think that the guys don't play hard?  Do you like college basketball better or are you not a fan of the sport at all?

It's no secret that I love the NBA, so it's not like I'm looking to change anyone's mind or anything.  Just like I said, I was curious...

Any comments would be appreciated since I'm genuinely wondering.


THE WIRK

I respect Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but disagree about LeBron and college

I respect Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, but I disagree with him about LeBron James and college...  His article can be found here:  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/05/12/abdul-jabbar.lebron.ap/index.html#ixzz0novQfhDk

First a little background:
According to Wikipedia: In 2005, the NBA and the players' union agreed upon a new collective bargaining agreement, which requires that:

• The minimum age for entry into the NBA is 19; players must have their nineteenth (or later) birthday in the calendar year of the draft in order to be eligible;
• Players who completed basketball eligibility at a U.S. high school, regardless of their nationality, must be at least one year removed from high school.
• However, NBA commissioner David Stern has made it clear that this age limit does not mean players are required to spend a year after high school in college. They can spend it overseas, like Brandon Jennings did before entering the 2009 NBA Draft. 

Now Me:
People say that hindsight is 20/20. It has a lot to do with “cause and effect”. For example, I touch the stove, and I get burned. Therefore I shouldn’t touch the stove ever, right? NO. Who’s to say I had the stove on earlier? Honestly, I travel a lot and right now I have a stack of mail on the burners of my stove. Who cares. The stove isn’t hot.

Get it? Cause and effect isn’t always 100%. I’ve taken enough quantitative analysis and statistics courses that I know that correlation doesn’t necessarily equal causation. I’m not about to Google basketball stats, but I do know that I disagree with Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s comments that LeBron would’ve benefited if he’d went to college. Further, I certainly disagree with raising the minimum age to 21 for the NBA.

I know that if I had any super-star athletic ability (i.e. I do have a mean cross-court backhand in tennis), my parents would’ve squandered it. My parents never valued athletics as much as they valued academics. If they had reared LeBron instead of Gloria, LeBron would be a doctor and no one aside from his recreation league would’ve known about him. It takes a special parent (e.g. Gloria James, Richard Williams, etc.) to see that his/her child is gifted and can take it to the highest level.

•  Moses Malone, Shawn Kemp, Kevin Garnett, etc . never went to college and they had/have exceptional careers. Yes, I threw Shawn Kemp in there. I like Shawn Kemp, but admit that he has had his share of struggles. However, let’s face it ~ I doubt college would’ve saved him from his personal issues.
• For players like Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop, etc. it’d be easy for me to argue to send them to college or not draft them at all. But come on, it’s only because I’ve seen their body of work and I’m not that impressed with their level of play. They could follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan and study geography, so that they can easily find the next team that they play for on a map. 

College is great, and I’m not going to downplay the value of education or the socialization that occurs in school. However, I’m wise enough to know that college doesn’t equal “smart”.  My first fiance never went to college and plays in the NBA. He is not stupid, and I’d argue he’s very smart. He doesn’t have a diploma on his wall. BFD. He speaks numerous languages and is intelligent. If he had to go to school, I assure you he’d be successful.

If LeBron went to college who knows what would’ve happened? He could’ve gotten injured. He could have ran with the wrong crew and fallen into trouble. He might have gone a year or so and dropped out, and then everyone would criticize that too. He could’ve been successful and won a title. I don’t know what would’ve happened and neither do you.

Could’ve, should’ve, would’ve, but DIDN’T. LeBron didn’t go to college. That’s the way it is, and speculating now is a complete waste of time, especially when all anyone is trying to do is kill time before

I'll leave you with an exchange between Erne Johnson and Charles Barkley (i.e. who completed 3 years at Auburn University)

EJ: "Did you graduate from Auburn?"

Charles: "No, but I have a couple people working for me who did."

Wait here's one more exchange, between me and an NBA player (i.e. in Cleveland during the pre-LeBron years, when Gund Arena was empty and quieter than your local library) who wanted to go out when I had to study for an exam in graduate school.

Him:  When was the last time 20,000 people showed up to watch you take a test?

Me:  When was the last time 20,000 people showed up to watch you play?

If LeBron could've benefited from college, than maybe I could've benefited from extra tennis lessons and basketball camps...  Hmmm ~ I need to call my mom and dad now...

Game 6 of the Cleveland Cavaliers v Boston Celtics series starts tonight at the TD Garden at 8.


THE WIRK