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In Cleveland, hope dies last

Archive for the month “June, 2011”

09 Jun 2011

Time for the Indians to turn this around

The Cleveland Indians head to New York this weekend for four games with a chance to get their season back on track.

The Tribe still holds a 1.5-game lead over the second-place Tigers, and as strange as it may sound, four games with the Yankees may be cure for the slumping Tribe.

The Indians have an advantage in at least three of the four pitching match-ups this weekend:

  • Fausto Carmona opposes someone named Ivan Nova in the series opener
  • Mitch Talbot (three runs in his last 12.2 innings of work) takes on Bartolo Colon on Saturday
  • Josh Tomlin goes against Freddy Garcia on Sunday

Even Monday’s match-up, Carlos Carrasco against A.J. Burnett, could favor the Indians if Carrasco keeps pitching the way he has lately (4-2 since coming off the disabled list).

Throw in the fact that the Yankee bullpen is a mess, with Joba Chamberlain likely out for the year with a torn ligament in his elbow, Pedro Feliciano out until July and Rafael Soriano still injured, and the Indians have an opportunity here.

Since sweeping the Reds, the Indians have gone just 5-11 and seen their seven-game lead evaporate. But manager Manny Acta is keeping a cool head amid the slump.

“Because it happens to every team in a 162-game season, and it’s not going to be the last one, either,” Acta told The Plain Dealer. “Usually, teams have two to three. Doesn’t matter who you are, big market, small market, young, old. It just happens. Teams went through it earlier in the year. We didn’t. Now we’re going through ours. We just have to fight back.”

With three games coming up next week against Detroit, now would be a good time for the Indians to start fighting back.

***

Big story out of the Gold Cup, as five players on Mexico’s soccer team, including goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, have tested positive for a banned substance and are out of the tournament – for now.

Decio De Maria, general secretary of the Mexican federation, said Ochoa, defenders Edgar Duenas and Francisco Rodriguez, and midfielders Christian Bermudez and Antonio Naelson tested positive for clenbuterol.

The five players haven’t been suspended, just “removed” from the team and won’t be allowed to play during the investigation. They were expected to miss Thursday night’s game against Cuba.

“What is presumed … one had to ingest contaminated materials – meat or chicken,” De Maria said in published reports. “Now comes the tough part, taking the players off the squad and opening an investigation. Meanwhile, it is a disagreeable moment to take this kind of decision, but we have to take responsibility.”

The Mexican federation said the five tested positive in pre-Gold Cup doping tests conducted May 21. Officials said the substance detected was the banned anabolic agent clenbuterol.

“Everything points to it being an accident, very unfortunate,” De Maria said.

If the players end up being suspended for the rest of the tournament, that will remove an big obstacle for the U.S.

***

The rebuilding of Liverpool continues, as the club has completed a £20-million transfer deal with Sunderland for Jordan Henderson.

The 20-year-old midfielder if the club’s first signing of the summer, and joins fellow big-money signings Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez. That’s three high-profile, young players to join the club since Fenway Sports Group’s takeover and Kenny Dalglish’s return as manager.

The fact that the team is working to get younger is a positive sign that the club continues to move in the right direction.

***

Finally, we might have to bid on this vintage Cleveland Indians cookie jar – unless Cleveland Frowns beats us to it, of course.

(h/t Uni Watch)

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Gold Cup, Liverpool | Leave a comment
08 Jun 2011

Slumping Indians look for reinforcements

Welcome to the big leagues, Cord Phelps.

The struggling, slumping, sinking Cleveland Indians – losers of 11 of their last 15 – finally made a move, reaching into the minor leagues and promoting Phelps.

Phelps will platoon at second base with Orlando Cabrera.

“The kid’s going to get an opportunity to play, and we’re going to have to see if he’ll take advantage of it,” Indians manager Manny Acta said in published reports. “For now, he’s going to play second base, and we’re going to give him the opportunity to play the majority of times against right-handed pitching.

“Orlando’s been there, done that. You can’t rule out Orlando coming back and playing every day. But this kid deserved a shot based on the way he’s played the last two years at Columbus.”

Phelps batted .299 with seven homers, 40 RBI and 31 runs at Columbus, playing shortstop (28 games) and second base (13 games).

Phelps got the start on Wednesday and fit right in with the current offense, going 0-for-4 in his debut.

“You’ve got to earn it,” Phelps told The Plain Dealer. “I was a little nervous at the start, but that’s to be expected. Overall, I felt pretty good. It was exciting.”

The Tribe is currently in a woeful offensive slump. In their last six games they have only scored eight total runs and barely avoided being swept by the last-place Minnesota Twins. Pretty much everyone not named Michael Brantley or Asdrubal Cabrera is struggling right now and it limits what Acta can do.

Look at the batting averages in Wednesday’s lineup: Grady Sizemore (.256), Carlos Santana (.228), Shin-Soo Choo (.240), Matt LaPorta (.240), Jack Hannahan (.231) and Lou Marson (.207).

The manager can move people around in the batting order all he wants, but if no one is hitting it doesn’t make much difference.

Phelps clearly isn’t going to turn the team around by himself, but at least the Tribe did something to try and right the ship.

The move certainly can’t make things any worse than they currently are.

***

Even though the NFL lockout is still going on, that doesn’t mean Browns general manager Tom Heckert isn’t thinking about all the things he can do once the league comes to its senses.

All the extra time has made him more prepared than ever for free agency – whenever it begins.

Most importantly, the Browns:

  • Will not trade for Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb: ”You can dispel that,” Heckert said. ”We’re not trading for a quarterback. That one I’ll say.”
  • Will not look to sign Plaxico Burress, late of the New York state penal system.
  • Will look for a free safety: “Right now, Mike Adams is penciled in as a guy who’s going to play almost all safety for us, but we’ll see,” Heckert said. “There’s a few guys in free agency and we’ll see what happens with the undrafted rookies, so we still have a couple of options out there.”
  • Haven’t closed the door on fullback Lawrence Vickers: “It’s hard to tell,” Heckert said. “We didn’t really have a chance to talk to him once free agency started because of the rules. It never started. We’ll have to make all of those decisions once everything opens up.”
  • Haven’t decided what to do with quarterback Jake Delhomme: “Whenever the thing opens up, we’ll sit down with Jake and talk to him and decide what’s the best for him and for our organization,” Heckert said. “We have to wait until that happens.”

Knowing all that certainly makes it easier for us to sleep at night.

***

Check out this cool graphic showing NBA titles represented by championship rings.

(h/t Uni Watch)

***

Finally, our post on the U.S. opening game win over Canada in the Gold Cup is up at MLS Talk. Be sure to check it out.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Gold Cup, slumping offense, United States | Leave a comment
06 Jun 2011

You can never have too much pitching

The Cleveland Indians are obviously believers in the old axiom that you can never have enough pitching, as the Tribe has selected 15 pitchers with their first 24 picks in the amateur baseball draft.

After using their first pick on shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Indians selected right-hander Dillon Howard with their second pick.

According to mlb.com:

In past drafts, there would only be a small offering of high-ceiling, projectable high school pitchers with good velocity to choose from in the first round. In 2011, there’s some depth in that category. Case in point is Howard, who doesn’t rank up with the prep arms being mentioned near the top of the draft, but isn’t far off, either. The Arkansas product has a fastball that will be plus, touching 95 mph at times. It’s not straight, either, with both sink and run to it. His hard curve, 78-80 mph, is a little slurvy now and is fringy average, but it’s got some depth to it and will be more than fine. He’s even got a good feel for a changeup, an offspeed pitch that should be a Major League average pitch as well. With a clean delivery, decent overall command — not as much with the curve — and the chance to have a solid three-pitch mix, Howard looks like he’s settled firmly into the first round, unless signability (he’s advised by Scott Boras) becomes an issue.

We’re all on board with the plan to stockpile pitchers; the more quality arms you have in the minors the better the odds you will find two or three that could reach the majors some day.

As for Lindor, mlb.com says:

He has the chance to be an impact player on both sides of the ball at a premium position. He’ll definitely be able to stay at shortstop with plus defense, showing outstanding range and a strong arm. At the plate, he’s gotten stronger and he could grow into enough power to hit 15 or so homers annually, enough to keep pitchers honest, along with hitting .290-.300 every year. While he’s a solid average runner, he could be a potential leadoff hitter in the future, thanks to his strike-zone knowledge and willingness to take a walk to go along with his ability to swing the bat from both sides of the plate. Lindor is a high-energy player with good makeup, one who is almost certainly the top high school position player, according to talent, in this draft class.

The Indians appear to be in good hands with scouting director Brad Grant. He drafted Alex White, Lonnie Chisenhall, Drew Pomeranz, Jason Kipnis and Cord Phelps.

We’ve already had a taste of White on the major league level and we like what we saw before he was injured. And it’s easy to look at the other names on that list and imagine them in Wahoo red, white and blue.

There’s no known downside to having a strong minor league system and that’s what the Indians have been building. If Grant can keep the draft magic going, the team should have a strong pipeline of talent coming to Progressive Field for years to come.

***

There was a good story by Heather Havrilesky in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine on why Friday Night Lights, one of the best TV shows ever, was mostly ignored by viewers while drivel like Glee is a ratings hit.

Yet thanks to disappointing numbers in its first two seasons, Friday Night Lights was farmed out by NBC to DirecTV, which showed each new season in the fall, after which they were replayed by NBC in the spring. So the fifth and final season of Friday Night Lights has already wrapped up on DirecTV, even as it’s now completing a zombie victory lap on the network. It’s still hard not to wonder why a show so humble and all-American has struggled so mightily to attract viewers. Where are the cheering, breathless crowds?

These days, you’ll probably find them singing along with the precocious teenagers of Glee. That show covers much of the same thematic ground — high school, troubled marriages, the joys of teamwork — but in a far more spectacular, flamboyant manner. The colorful musical dramedy has been a huge hit since it shoved its way onto the schedule in 2009 in a violent burst of sequins and jazz hands. If Friday Night Lights is as American as apple pie, then Glee is more like Ben & Jerry’s deep-fried caramel-apple whipped-cream-swirl ice cream (which doesn’t exist, but really should): a dense, flavorful, genre-bending extravaganza of one-upmanship, raging hormones, teary confessions and lip-glossed warbling.

It’s a good read, but the answer is actually quite simple. If you watched Friday Night Lights you had to think, and the majority of people don’t want to do that anymore – the ongoing popularity of Sarah Palin is proof of that.

With drek like Glee, people can mindlessly watch the pretty colors and don’t have to worry about using their brains.

It’s unfortunate, too, because as long as that is the case it will be harder to get shows like FNL, The Wire and Rome on the air.

And that certainly does not fill us with glee.

***

Finally, we made our debut at EPL Talk today, with a post on how the NFL lockout could have a negative impact on Randy Lerner and Aston Villa.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, EPL, Friday Night Lights, Randy Lerner | Leave a comment
06 Jun 2011

Flashes can’t hook the Horns

The Kent State baseball team finally ran out of steam in the 100 degree heat on Monday, losing to Texas to miss out on the first visit to the Super Regionals in school history.

The Golden Flashes had two chances to advance, but lost to the host Longhorns, the No. 5 team in the nation, Sunday night, forcing Monday’s winner-take-all game, which Texas won, 5-0.

Kent made the Longhorns use six pitchers in the shutout, including their top two starters, but couldn’t break through against any of them.

“We’re disappointed to be in the position that we are in,” said KSU coach Scott Stricklin. “To have to be beat twice, it’s tough to handle, it really is. We felt like we were in good shape, and we were. We had a chance to be in both games, and we just couldn’t come up with the big hit. A lot of credit obviously goes to Texas’ defense and its pitching.”

The Flashes ended the season 45-17, becoming just the second team in school history to reach the 45-win mark, joining the 1992 team at the top of the school’s rankings.

They are ranked No. 24 in the nation, earned a No. 3 seed in the national tournament for the first time in school history, won their 11th MAC regular season title and ninth tournament title (their third in a row) and are the first team to win the regular-season and tournament titles in the same year since 2005.

And to think they did it without cheating or lying.

***

So linebacker Matt Roth is resigned to leaving the Browns as a free agent?

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out of town.

We’re sure the Browns can find a way to replace the personal fouls and silly penalties Roth committed on a regular basis last year (on second thought, let’s hope they don’t).

And there’s no doubt they can live without his 3.5 sacks (2 against Cincinnati in one game, 1.5 the remaining 15 games of the season).

Roth is one of those players who thinks he is better than he is; so if this is the end, farewell.

The Browns will be fine without him.

***

Now that Plaxico Burress is out of prison, people are going to try and put the Browns as one of the teams that should sign the wide receiver.

While there’s little doubt the team needs help at receiver, we just don’t see Burress as the answer.

He’s a 34-year-old receiver that hasn’t played the game in two years and who hasn’t actually been in a situation where he could stay in game shape. We remember when Jamal Lewis was released from prison reading stories about how prison diets are intentionally loaded with the types of foods that keep inmates sluggish.

And with training camps most likely going to be shortened this year because of the ongoing lockout, the last thing the Browns need is to wait for Burress to work himself into shape.

With a rookie head coach in Pat Shurmur and a second-year quarterback in Colt McCoy running the offense, the Browns don’t fit what would appear to be the right situation for Burress.

We just don’t see him as being worth the effort for this team right now.

***

Spain definitely taught the U.S. a lesson over the weekend in its 4-0 beating in a friendly at Gillette Stadium.

“Spain is a great team,” U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. “It is a tough test to play them any time. We have always chosen to take these kind of challenges and to play the best teams and it is the best way, to see what the game at the highest level is like, and to improve.

“When you challenge yourself against the best teams, you have to expect difficult moments. If we couldn’t handle that, we wouldn’t play them.”

The U.S. opens group play in the Gold Cup on Tuesday against Canada, which should be a good cure for any hangover from the Spain game. The two teams haven’t played each other since 2007. Canada washed out at the qualifying stage for last year’s World Cup and the Canadians are not exactly a powerhouse.

With the tournament being held at home, the U.S. team has a good chance to right itself and build on some of the public attention it received during last year’s run in the World Cup.

Let’s hope they are quick studies.

Posted in Cleveland Browns, Gold Cup, Kent State, United States | Leave a comment
05 Jun 2011

Flashes tame Texas; Tribe, not so much

It was a tale of extremes this weekend for two of the local nines as they battled in and against Texas.

After being so strong at home, the Indians finally crashed in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers.

As for Kent State, the Golden Flashes were loving the Lone Star state this weekend.

The Indians continue to struggle offensively, as the Tribe only put up six runs in the four-game series, and were shutout Saturday and Sunday.

The Tribe only put up five hits on Saturday – three from Asdrubal Cabrera – which means hitters three through nine in the lineup were a combined 1-for-23.

It was much the same on Saturday, another five-hitter by the Tribe, with five through nine in the lineup combining to go 2-for-16.

Sunday? Try three hits, with five through nine combining to go 1-for-14.

To recap: in the past three games, Tribe “hitters” five through nine in the lineup were a combined 4-for-45, an .089 average.

Is it really any surprise they were swept?

On the pitching side, things were just as bad.

Texas hasn’t shown much power on the road this year, coming into the series with just 16 home runs on the road. So, of course, they rip the Indians for six home runs on the weekend.

Actually, that may be a bit harsh as the starting pitching really wasn’t all that bad.

Friday night, Justin worked into the seventh and left with the Indians trailing 2-1. Tony Sipp came on with two runners on and Josh Hamilton, who was batting .179 against left-handers, hit a three-run homer and the rout was on.

Saturday, Fausto Carmona gave up two, two-run homers but pretty much shut down the Rangers. Sunday, it was Mitch Talbot going six innings and only giving up the two solo homers.

It was that kind of weekend for the Tribe, which is going through a really tough stretch right now. Over the past 10 games, second-place Detroit has made up three games in the standings and the Tigers now sit just 2.5-games behind – the closest anyone has been to the Indians since the end of April.

The good news is that the Indians now get last-place Minnesota (13.5 games back) for three games while Detroit has to go to Texas for three.

The Indians should be able to get things back on track against the Twins, and if the Rangers can keep the momentum going from this weekend the Tribe will see their first-place cushion get a little bit bigger again.

Kent defeated host Texas, the No. 1 seed in their regional and the No. 5 team in the nation, on the Longhorns’ home field Saturday night, 7-5.

“I thought that was just a wonderful ballgame all the way around,” said associate head coach/pitching coach Mike Birkbeck. “The Texas Longhorns did not give up. They got down to their last out. But we are thrilled to be in the position that we are in.”

The Golden Flashes rocked Texas ace Taylor Jungmann (13-1) for seven earned runs and eight hits in 5 2-3 innings for the Longhorns (44-16). It was his first career loss at home.

The No. 3-seeded Golden Flashes (45-15) advance to a regional final for the first time since 2001. The 2011 squad becomes the second in program history to reach the 45-win mark, joining the 1992 team in achieving the most victories in program history.

The Golden Flashes were scheduled to take on the Longhorns again Sunday night, after Texas beat Texas State in the afternoon to advance from the loser’s bracket.

The Longhorns took it to Kent, however, beating the Flashes 9-3 to set up a winner-take-all game this afternoon at 2.

Win, and Kent earns a spot in the Super Regional for the first time in school history.

We have to worry, though, that the Flashes lost their chance Sunday night.

Posted in Cleveland Indians, Kent State | Leave a comment
04 Jun 2011

They’re not the world champs for nothing

“He doesn’t know it’s a damn show! He thinks it’s a damn fight!”

Apparently someone forgot to tell Spain this was supposed to be an exhibition.

The reigning World Cup champions dismantled the U.S. on Saturday, 4-0.

The friendly, before more than 64,000 at Gillette Stadium, was the first time the two teams have played since the U.S. shocked Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup.

Spain clearly did not forget.

Santi Cazorla scored twice, and Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Torres also scored for Spain.

As for the U.S., Landon Donovan (illness) and Carlos Bocanegra (coaches decision) did not play, while Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and Steve Cherundolo only saw action as second-half substitutes.

The U.S. was clearly holding players back in advance of Tuesday’s Gold Cup opener against Canada.

While winning a tournament is more important than winning a friendly, we have to wonder what the thinking was in scheduling Spain just a few days before the Gold Cup.

The only way the U.S. team is going to get better is by taking on teams like Spain, but if the top players don’t see the field, where is the value? Presumably the experience was still there for the second-level players on the team who saw game action, so that’s a positive.

And it’s not like Donvan, Dempsey, Bradley, etc., are lacking in big-game experience.

We still would have liked the U.S. team to enter the Gold Cup on a bit more of a positive note, as this loss puts more pressure on the team to put on a good showing.

Because if they don’t at least make the finals of the Gold Cup, today’s loss against Spain could have a lasting impact that the team was not expecting.

Posted in Clint Dempsey, Fernando Torres, Landon Donovan, Spain, United States | Leave a comment
03 Jun 2011

Indian Fever goes national

The rest of the country is about to be swept up in Indian fever, as three upcoming Indians games have been picked for a national TV slot.

Fox will televise the Indians game at San Francisco on June 25 and the July 2 game at Cincinnati in its Saturday national telecast position.

ESPN will feature the Tribe and Giants on June 26 in its Sunday night slot.

Get ready for plenty of references to Willie Mays and Dusty Rhodes, Cleveland.

***

Kent State won its opening game in the Austin Regional of the NCAA Championship on Friday, beating Texas State in extra innings.

The Golden Flashes won 4-2 as pinch hitter Jason Bagoly came through with an RBI single in the top of the 11th inning.

The 24th-ranked Golden Flashes (44-15) advances to Saturday’s regional semifinal, where they will face the winner of the Texas-Princeton game.

“We’re in great shape,” said seventh-year head coach and Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year Scott Stricklin. “Everyone assumes we’re playing Texas. Princeton is a good team, but I think we are prepared to play Texas.”

***

What did we learn from the hearing between the NFL and players that took place Friday morning before Judges Steven Collton, William Benton and Kermit Bye of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit?

Well, the lockout is still on, but Judge Bye informed both sides that the panel would reach a decision in “due course.”

He also warned the panel could reach a decision that “neither party will like.” He further added, with a smile, “We wouldn’t be all that hurt if you go out and settle that case” on your own.

Whatever.

***

Which team will be foolish enough to sign wide receiver Plaxico Burress when he is released from jail?

As long as the team doesn’t rhyme with “Cleveland Browns” we will be happy.

***

Finally, some rough news for anyone who likes the summer tradition of corn on the cob (and who doesn’t?)

Because of the seemingly never-ending rain this spring, it is still too wet for many farmers to plant their corn. Normally, about 93 percent of the acreage farmers devote to corn has been seeded by May 29; this year the number was 19 percent.

If we can’t get our weekly corn fix from Szalay’s, things could get ugly this summer.

Posted in baseball, Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, Kent State, NFL, summer corn, Szalay's | Leave a comment
03 Jun 2011

Flashes are golden on the links

Kent State continues to prove you can have a successful athletic program without cheating, as the men’s golf team is on the verge of its second-consecutive Top 20 finish on the season.

The Golden Flashes posted their best round of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship on Thursday, shooting a final-round 8-over 296. Kent ended the NCAA Finals with a 54-hole total of 902 (304-302-296).

“I’m extremely proud of this group, the wind picked up today and our guys went out and shot not only our best round of the tournament, but one of the best final rounds by the entire field,” said coach Herb Page. “All of the young guys played well today and senior (John) Hahn capped off a wonderful career. It was a great way to finish the year and I’m really happy for all the players.”

A Top 20 finish would be the sixth in the program’s history.

The men’s basketball team was also in the news this week, as ESPN.com’s Pat Forde named Kent State as one of the top 10 schools that get the most out of their basketball programs.

Ford wrote that: In a league full of boom-and-bust cycles, the Golden Flashes are remarkably consistent, riding a streak of 13 winning seasons. They’ve won at least 20 games in 12 of those seasons, one of just 10 programs that can make that claim during that stretch. The highlight came in 2002, when they advanced to the Elite Eight as a No. 10 seed.

Since 1998-99, Kent State is tied for 15th nationally with 306 wins which places the program ahead of more than 61 BCS schools and ranks 5th nationally among the 272 mid-major schools. Additionally Kent State, Kansas, Gonzaga and Creighton are the only four schools in the country to win at least 10 league games in each of the last 13 years.

During that same span, Kent State has put together the most outstanding postseason run in the history of the Mid-American Conference with 12 appearances in the past 13 years. The stretch includes five MAC regular season titles all while appearing in five NCAA Tournaments, six NITs and the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

Finally, the No.24-ranked baseball team is in Austin, Texas, where they will take on Texas State on Friday in regional play of the 2011 NCAA Championships.

With all the good things coming out of Kent recently, maybe Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith should take a ride up from Columbus this summer and take some notes on how to run a clean program.

They could certainly use some help.

Posted in Kent State, Ohio State, winning | Leave a comment
02 Jun 2011

On irony, Ohio State and Jim Tressel

Some final thoughts on the Jim Tressel situation at Ohio State.

It’s ironic that Ohio State has only itself to blame in all this. The NCAA does not make the rules, the governing body only enforces the rules that its member schools put in place.

So because people like Ohio State President Gordon Gee cling to an antiquated fairytale of college athletics as some kind of pure amateurism, the NCAA must enforce a host of silly rules – like the one saying you can’t sell memorabilia that has been given to you if you are a player.

Maybe if the schools weren’t so interested in trying to create a utopian society in college sports, they could get rid of the little things that bog down the NCAA and drive fans batty and let them take on the types of serious violations that really matter.

College football analyst, and former Browns quarterback, Gary Danielson was on Chris Russo’s Sirius radio show on Tuesday and he made some really good points about the situation at Ohio State and college athletics in general.

First off, he rightly pointed out that players selling items has been going on for decades, probably as long as there have been college athletics. Danielson said that when he was at Purdue, players knew not only who to go to when they wanted to sell their game tickets, but who would pay the most money.

The difference now, he said, is that today’s players aren’t happy with just a little extra spending cash, they have a sense of entitlement and a need for more – money, cars, jewelry, etc. – that leads to bigger trouble with the NCAA.

He also pointed out that athletes at most, if not all, schools learn quickly where the black market is in their town for the types of services they want. The generational and cultural gap between coaches and players is too great nowadays for coaches to know all the games players run and corners they cut.

Danielson came up with a solution that actually makes a lot of sense – college athletes should be treated like Olympic athletes and be allowed to sign endorsement deals with corporate sponsors.

If Nike wants to sign Vince Young to a shoe contract while he is at Texas, or if Ford wants to support Reggie Bush, why not allow it?

The big money would go to the superstars, of course, but even if you are a back-up, in most college towns you could get a sponsorship from Bob’s Automart of Crazy Carl’s Appliance Store.

It certainly wouldn’t eliminate every problem, but would it really make things worse? Like Danielson said, the Olympics are doing it and the last time we checked, the world hadn’t come to an end.

The idea probably makes too much sense to actually be implemented; after all, we’re talking about a group of people, in college presidents, that can’t see the hypocrisy of not having a playoff at the top level of college football because it would hurt the players’ studying – but somehow it is OK for every other sport at every level in college.

But we can certainly dream of a better day. And until that day comes, stay classy Buckeye fans.

***

There’s no World Cup this summer, and the next European Championship is still a year away, but there is still plenty of soccer action coming this summer.

Posted in common sense, Jim Tressel, Ohio State | Leave a comment

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