ESPN is so eager to re-take control of our lives with football that they aired a High School football game Saturday afternoon. I watched. I was controlled. And I digress.
What does it mean that the Detroit Free Press broke a story about NCAA violations at the second most legendary program in college football on what is essentially the eve of the season?
Michigan is embroiled in controversy. Whether it will amount to anything is still uncertain. Anonymous former and current players have accused the program of NCAA violations. This time it's not players and family receiving money or houses or exotic pets.
It's all about working too hard.
Did Michigan coaches violate NCAA rules, forcing players to practice for more hours than NCAA laws allow?
Are players in the SEC taking it easy all summer long, hanging out with friends on Campus before going to Acting 101? No, they are out in the harsh sun working to improve their NFL draft stock. Just like the Music School's top pianist is toiling away day and night to improve at their trade.
Long ago, most of the major academic institutions in the country banded together to form the NCAA to create a set of rules that no one follows.
That continues to stick out as the great hypocrisy of college sports.
Why make a rule that players can only practice a few hours a week during the off-season when everyone is going to break that rule by a significant margin? It makes no sense. Everyone ends up looking bad.
Everyone ends up looking like dishonest cheaters.
One day, someone in the college sports world will wake up and realize they need a realistic set of rules that people might actually follow. Until then, the media will have grist for their scandal mill, and programs will have controversy.
Now, who's playing on ESPN this Thursday? I hope it's not another High School game. But I'll still watch.
Recently, we were reminded that the SEC has no heart when it comes to weighing their fans' desires against their own financial interests. They planned to implement a ban on tweeting from the stands during games. Fans wouldn't be able to tweet, "What a great tackle, I am pumped! GO GATORS! CHOMP!!!" during a game.
Fans and media roared collectively, "NO!" The SEC may back down or water down the policy.
It seems extreme until you consider the billions of dollars at stake in the SEC's contracts with ESPN and CBS.
I doubt ESPN cares if fans tweet from their games. ESPN is all about creating a buzz, and tweeting fans won't cost them any viewers.
But when the issue of video going up on people's blogs comes into play, I can see where the ESPN and the SEC should get a little nervous.
There is a much bigger issue at play. One that old media has struggled with since the invention of Napster. The music company has thus far failed to curtail the free exchange of songs across the Internet. What will companies like ESPN and CBS do in a few years when the video produced on the newest iPhone is as crisp as what they broadcast on television?
Technology and the Internet is a Pandora's Box for these companies, and they better figure out now how to cash in on the changing product delivery methods or they'll get left in the dust like the recording industry.
Meanwhile, I fully expect fans to tweet away and take pictures at games with their cell phones. A few will get caught and the media will follow the stories of how the SEC treats them. But they're not going to get people to stop taking pictures of their families at games, and posting them on the web.
And drunken college kids aren't going to stop tweeting, "OMG LOLERZ A TOUCHDOWN!!!"
I have two comments to make about the spectacle that is Wimbledon.
First, the retractable roof over Centre Court.
I'm boycotting Wimbledon this year because of the roof.
We see how money can influence and take away a special element from one of the oldest, most prestigious sporting events in the world.
They played Wimbledon for over a century without a roof. Now there's a roof. So now they can keep things moving. Get all the important matches in.
But at what cost?
The bleacher bums won't be able to get in on that once-a-generation Monday Wimbledon Final. And something else is lost. Rain delays were just a part of the event for over a hundred years. Now they're minimized to mixed doubles matches in the far courts. Wimbledon isn't the same as it was without the roof. Tradition once again takes a backseat to filling wallets and worshiping at the teat of Television.
Speaking of television, they must be thrilled. Both Venus and Serena Williams have advanced to the Quarter Finals of the Women's Draw. On the men's side, Andy Roddick has survived to the "Elite 8". It's really the best that Television could have hoped for.
And why is that?
Since the beginning of televised tennis in the United States, the theme has been jingoism and nationalism. It's not an event where you celebrate great players. Television has always fed the nationalistic angle. They highlight American players, and foster an "Us vs. Them" mentality.
That worked great in the 1970's. It still worked well even to the beginning of this decade. But the past five years have seen tennis flourish around the world, and it has become more of a world sport without the U.S. domination. So Television is presented with the problem of how to promote this sport, when the finals of Men's Wimbledon may not sport an American player for another generation.
And the truth is, they can't. What they have promoted for decades is so deeply ingrained, that American fans have no interest in a "Russia vs. Sweeden" Final. Television chose its destiny and now it must live with the consequences of poor ratings when Americans do poorly most years.
Note: HHL is a professional handicapper. HHL has won the Pick Six fifty-five times with no winning ticket costing more than $16. In a two month span, he won $5,400 on a $4 Pick Six ticket and $4,200 on a $4 Pick Six ticket at Churchill Downs. He is known for picking winners.
Rand