Economics Rules The Day …

Well, the Big-10 changed its rules yesterday afternoon in a move that shocked just about no one.  Ohio State will play Northwestern in the Big-10 Championship Game despite failing to meet the special criterion set by the Big-10 back in September for participation in that game.  Barring a loss in that game to Northwestern – – I am predicting that the Buckeyes will be a 3 TD favorite there – – Ohio State will then go and be selected to participate in the CFP.

And there, ladies and gentlemen, lies the foundation for this “changing of the rules”.  According to a report I read, having Ohio State be part of that playoff will bring a minimum of $6M to the Big-10 and that money will then be shared among the schools in the conference.  That is why:

1. Arch-rival Michigan is comfortable with seeing Ohio State get a pass on the rules that everyone in the conference had agreed to a few months ago.
2. Indiana is understanding as the accept the fact that they will not play in the Big-10 Championship Game even though they would do so by complying with the standard set a few months ago.
3. The other schools in the conference pondered the “ethical issues” versus the “economic issues” involved here before voting “ECONOMICS” and putting Ohio State into the Big-10 Championship Game.

For the record, Ohio State is the best team in the Big-10 and belongs in the CFP.  I have no problem with that as the outcome; I do have a problem with the process here that should assure Ohio State a slot in the CFP.

It was only about a week ago that the Knight Commission – a group that tries to imagine efficient and effective oversight of college sports annually – issued its report and recommended that the Division 1 football conferences separate themselves totally from the NCAA because football is different from all other collegiate sports in terms of revenue generated and spent.  Here is a paragraph from a report at ESPN.com explaining what the acceptance of this Knight Commission recommendation would entail:

“The commission’s proposal to separate FBS football from the NCAA would leave those big-time football programs in charge of creating a new entity that would develop and enforce rules, determine eligibility requirements, set health and safety standards, and organize a national championship.”

Juxtapose – if you will – that paragraph from ESPN.com with what the Big-10 administrators did yesterday afternoon.  Somehow, I am not nearly as confident as the Knight Commission seems to be that Division 1 football would be in friendly hands…

Here is another example of the rectitude resident in Division 1 football.  LSU announced yesterday that it had informed the NCAA that the school has self-imposed “a one-year postseason ban on its football program for the 2020-21 bowl season.”  Read on:

“ LSU made this decision after careful deliberation and review of the NCAA rules violations that have been discovered in the University’s co-operative investigation with the NCAA …”

Sounds as if LSU is atoning for sins it admits it committed – – until this little bit of reality steps up and smacks you in the face:

• As of this morning, LSU is a 3-5 team with 2 embarrassing losses to weak teams (Missouri and Mississippi State) and 2 embarrassing blow-out losses to strong teams (Alabama and Auburn) on their record.

Since I brought up ESPN obliquely above, let me take a moment here to note that the New Year is going to bring significant change to ESPN Radio with some spillover to ESPN TV.

• Trey Wingo will be leaving ESPN for “future endeavors”.  Once ESPN Radio killed off “Golic and Wingo” as their morning offering, Wingo has been at loose ends.  His prior position was as the host of various NFL studio shows but that job has been taken over by Wendi Nix.  [Aside:  Nix is OK in that role but nothing more than that.  However, ESPN is not nearly up to the idea of replacing her with a white male these days.]
• Dan LeBatard and ESPN will come to a “mutually agreeable parting of the ways”.  There has been some friction between LeBatard and the suits at ESPN for a while; his departure means there is a 2-hour hole in the ESPN Radio lineup and that there will need to be a major change in the format and/or the direction of ESPN’s afternoon TV show, Highly Questionable.

Personally, I think that Dan LeBatard is a much better writer than he is a radio/TV “personality”.  However, the economic potential for a writer as compared to a radio guy makes it highly unlikely that he will resurface anywhere as a columnist/reporter.  That is what I call an inconvenient truth – – to borrow a phrase from former VP Al Gore.

[Aside:  With the departure of Dan LeBatard, it is likely that his sidekick, “Stugotz” will also be moving on.  If and when you discover where he resurfaces, please do not reveal that locale to me.  Perhaps, I will be fortunate and not find him on my own…]

I have tried for a couple of months to warm up to the current morning show on ESPN Radio.  I decided about a week ago that was never going to happen.  Jay Williams is the only one of the three hosts who ever says anything that is thought-provoking and among the three, he is generally the silent partner.  As of now, I will only listen to these three guys in the morning if my alternatives are NPR’s Morning Edition and a televangelist preaching in some unknown language.

This restricts my morning radio options in the DC area significantly.  There are two other options.  One is called The Sports Junkies – a show featuring 4 insufferably uninteresting people sharing inside jokes and “frat boy banter”.  The other option is the Kevin Sheehan Show which is now going to be my morning aural experience.  I arrived at that position by selecting the least worst option available to me.

Finally, here is a comment from Dwight Perry that relates to economics in sports:

“Ravens defensive coordinator Don ‘Wink’ Martindale says the Chiefs, who gave QB Patrick Mahomes a record $450 million extension, ‘could’ve paid him a billion. I’d still think he’s underpaid.’

“Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson — with an eye on his next contract — immediately fired his agent and replaced him with Wink.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………