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Next NCAA lawsuit
So, as MocsColts mentioned Wednesday, eight female athletes have filed a lawsuit questioning the settlement ruling in the House v. NCAA settlement.
Here’s more from The Athletic, and I believe this is a free link.
For starters, I think everyone expected this. Everyone.
“I think for so long female athletes have just been OK with getting whatever scraps are left and are told just to be thankful that they’re even competing and not aspire for more,” said Lexi Drumm, a College of Charleston business administration and political science major who is heading to law school in the fall. “Title IX is supposed to be a promise to get a full seat at that table and not just get the scraps.”
So this is the next of several legal dominos that will tumble.
Here’s my question for some of you legal eagles out there: Did the judge’s decision offer some cover with the specific wording of “revenue sharing” in the decision?
I think Title IX has for the most part been great, and that’s as a dad of a female athlete who hopes to be recruited in college. Not for the NIL, but for the love of the game.
I hate that the downside of Title IX has resulted in the growing number of men’s program terminations.
I fear that NIL and revenue sharing will have a similar effect, if not in termination of men’s programs but certainly in terms of de-emphasized importance and spending.
And that’s the thing. If this is truly based in revenue-sharing — and that revenue is not federally generated, which is the basis of Title IX disputes — is there a legal argument of gender differences in NIL shares?
Because, while Texas Tech decided to spend seven figures on a softball pitcher and attendance and interest is growing in several female sports (looking at you softball and gymnastics) there simply is no comparison to what revenue is generated from football and men’s hoops to every other sport and all women’s sports.
Thoughts?
It’s that time
So, we are in mid-June — June 12 to be exact — which means we are looking for football things to discuss.
Exhibit A: Aaron Rodgers. All of it.
Exhibit B: We are overly concerned about whether Trey Hendrickson resigns from Cincinnati.
Exhibit C: Kirk Cousins talking to the media as a $40 million back-up is news.
Well, the same is true for our favorite version of the game — college football.
In fact, I find myself wandering down the rabbit hole of “overhyped/underhyped” rankings.
And realizing that this is June 12, and we are a full two months before teams are popping pads in earnest, here is my overrated, underrated and properly rated of the teams of local interest.
> Tennessee. Properly rated with a lean to maybe overrated. And I’m not sure there is a bigger swing player we’ll mention in this than transfer QB Joey Aguilar.
> Alabama. Overrated. I am not sold on Kalen DeBoer. And this is a sneaky big year for the coach and THE coach. Especially since this will be the last full roster of the Dark Lord’s recruiting prowess.
> Georgia. Properly rated. I believe in Gunnar Stockton. Oscar Delp is Brock Bowers-lite. The WR room is as good as it’s been in a long time and the defense is always stocked with talent. I’ve never been a believer in OC Mike Bobo, but the talent cupboards are Stockton-ed. (Spy?)
> UTC. A touch underrated. I think there is a lot of talent working over there next to Manker Patten. My only question centers on whether the program’s leadership is ready to finally deliver in a make-or-break moment.
> Auburn. Underrated. Granted, I am an eternal optimist when it comes to my alma mater, but the QB play has to be better. The WR room is top-five nationally. The defense has multiple Sunday dudes on it. And the coaching staff best be extremely motivated to win now or they are going to be asked to win elsewhere.
True or false on a Thursday, there is no hotter seat in the SEC (and maybe the country) than Hugh Freeze’s?
Got any specific teams you want an “overrated/underrated/properly rated review”? Feel free to fire away in the comments.
Basketball eyeballs
Several things here.
So the Pacers took Game 3 of the Finals and now leads 2-1. The basketball has been entertaining.
But this Pacers-Thunder matchup has a major viewership issue. Game 1 was historically low. Game 2 was worse with only 8.76 million viewers on average. The only Game 2s worse were the bubble year of Lakers-Heat in 2020, the Cavs-Spurs in 2007, which aired opposite the series finale of “The Sopranos” and a Friday night Nets-Spurs game in 2003. Yikes.
Second, as USA Today reported, the WNBA goes as Caitlin Clark goes, no matter what her peers think say or do.
From the national newspaper, according to Nielsen numbers, “Nationally televised WNBA viewership is down 55 percent since (Clark’s) injury. Fever national TV games are down 53 percent since Clark’s injury – 1,810,000 average viewers before her injury and 847,000 viewers since her injury for Fever national TV games.”
Finally, and this is much-needed, college basketball is taking steps to improve the flow of games in the final minutes.
The changes are designed “to help with the flow of the game focus on the points of emphasis for officials for 2025-26. These will include directives to address delay-of-game tactics, limit time spent at the monitor, improve game administration efficiency and reduce physicality.”
Yay.
This and that
› The U.S. Open is underway. War Aberg.
› Is there a national sports storyline that causes your eyes to glaze more than the Knicks head coaching search? Not for me. When the topic comes to the replacement for Tom Thibodeaux on the four-letter network, I instantly reach for the remote. Is there an NCIS rerun on somewhere?
› You know the rules. Here’s Paschall with some UT football goodness.
› So yes, the Pope does wear a funny hat. And in this case, it’s a Chicago White Sox cap. Yep, those White Sox. Who knows, maybe he’s a big fan of Easy E and NWA. Probably not, but maybe.
› Braves played. Braves won. Wait, what? Nice game for Spencer Schwellenbach, who threw a complete game in the 6-2 win over Milwaukee, and Ronald Acuña Jr., who went 3-for-5 and is hitting .353 since returning to action.
Today’s questions
It’s an AGT — Anything Goes Thursday — so we’ll start here:
Larry Bird thinks the NBA is going to “have to do something” in terms of moving the 3-point line back.
Do you agree? Would you rather move the 3 back or instill a 4-point line several feet back?
Also, how much of the NBA Finals have you watched?
What schools should I review in the “overrated/underrated/properly rated” ratings?
As for today, it’s June 12, let’s review:
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” premiered on this day in 1981. Great movie.
Mariah Carey’s debut album dropped on this day 35 years ago. Great voice.
Marv Albert is 84 today.
It is also National Peanut Butter Cookie Day.
Does the peanut butter cookie make the Rushmore of cookies? Go, and remember the mailbag.