So Very True

Nation's men prepare to pretend they've been following college basketball all season.

You know the type and with March Madness starting on Saint Patrick's Day everyone will be an expert after the third beer.

A Modest Proposal to Fix NCAA Sports

The sports world is waiting for the other shoe (or other sneaker in this case) to drop in the "NCAA basketball corruption scandal". So far 10 individuals have been charged with crimes by the FBI and a number of others have already lost their jobs including Louisville coach Rick Pitino (that's how Boston Celtics fans remember him looking like).

It is expected that some of the 10 already charged (maybe even all of the 10 already charged) will start "naming names" and when that happens - whoo-boy get the popcorn out! I mean who doesn't like staring at a good trainwreck? You've got shady AAU individuals, sneaker company money, coaches of flexible morals and University administrators willing to look the other way as long as the wins greatly outnumber the losses and the boosters are happy. All the makings of a great mini-series drama unfolding in real life.

Well I've got a modest proposal to fix this mess and it's quite simple and straightforward. Take away the tax-exempt status of college sports.

College sports is big business. Everyone knows this. Why not simply treat it as such? If colleges and universities had to pay taxes on all sports related revenue (ticket sales, TV and radio contracts, merchandise sales, etc) - which I argue is a very fair proposition - then IRS reporting and the rules that govern normal business behavior would take care of the rest. And by normal rules I mean little things like businesses actually paying their employees. 

There's an underground economy in college sports of AAU individuals, shady agents, crooked coaches and sneaker company employees all engaging in win at all costs behavior. Making college sports taxable will expose these dealings to the sunlight and at the same time get rid of the most unsavory characters (like a Rick Pitino - I hold a grudge). It would be similar to how legalizing pot in Colorado got rid of the midnight deal in Denny's parking lots and replaced it with well-lit storefronts with coffee and pastry (or so I've heard - haven't been to Colorado in a long time). 

Follow the logic to my argument. If college sports lost their tax exempt status then they would have to pay taxes and follow the IRS rules that every other business has to follow. This includes paying "employees" (aka "student-athletes"). If a student athlete was getting paid then there would no no reason for the best of them NOT to have an agent. Legitimate agents will send the sketchy guys now trying to make a buck back under the rocks from whence they slithered.

You could even sell this politically. Say that the monies raised from taxing college sports will specifically be used to fund military personnel taking advantage of the GI College Bill with any excess funds being used to pay down the national deficit. 

So let it be written. So let it be done.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I wanted to watch the John Wayne classic The Quiet Man for Saint Patrick's Day but surprisingly Netflix doesn't have it. So I watched Green Lantern instead... How a particle accelerator works explained with donuts and Kit-Kats... Who knew? According to Mental Floss - "Temple was founded in 1884 as a night school and its students were called 'night owls' - thus the Owl nickname"... Good Las Vegas bet - man bets $120 on Norfolk State money line at 45-1 and wins $5,520... What is the potential upside to the Yankees signing the soon to be 40-year old Andy Pettitte? Well consider that when Jamie Moyer was 40-years old he went 21-7 with a 3.27 ERA for the Mariners... Bad Las Vegas bet - man bets $2,800 on Duke trying to win $280. Say goodbye to the $2,800... I was in three NCAA pools giving me 6 teams. All 6 teams were out by the time it struck midnight on Saint Patrick's Day... Because stretching is important...

Coach Bobby Knight

A couple of friends were in New York City a couple of years ago and one happened to see Coach Bobby Knight walking on the other side of the busy street. The one friend says, "Hey that's Bobby Knight." "Hey - you're right", says the second friend who then starts yelling out, "Coach Knight! Coach Knight!" The yelling gets Bobby Knight's attention and he looks over at my buddies. The second buddy sees Bobby Knight looking at him so he yells out, "Coach Knight (pause) FUCK YOU!" And my friend then gives him the finger double barreled.

Bobby Knight scowls, turns and stomps off. My buddies burst out laughing.

And I laugh every time I think of the story. Bobby Knight is a prick.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

Why cats, otters, hyenas, sea lions, and dolphins can't taste sweet 

The best coaches ATS in the NCAA tourney's first round. Michigan's John Beilein and Kansas State's Frank Martin are a combined 8-0 

The worst coaches ATS in the NCAA tourney's first round 

Awesome photo of space shuttle 

President Obama could use a lesson in humility 

What else would she drive? 

NCAA Geography Quiz: Where Is That Tournament-Bound School? I did awful on this quiz.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

OK - we'll trade you our Smallpox for your Syphilis - deal?

Phil Martelli comes off as such a jerk here.  Unless the guy got his daughter pregnant - Martelli is clearly in the wrong.

Bad Lip Reading - Newt Gingrich. What's up with the fruit panties - you hating on me?

Christopher Hitchens on the Death Penalty

Heywood Jablome's brother?

I posted this link before but it's worth another look. A game preserve in India where the rangers shoot to kill poachers

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share.

- Edited time lapse of USS Carl Vinson's flight deck being readied for tonight's basketball game

- Interesting Malcolm Gladwell article on Steve Jobs

- The science behind why we kiss. Alfred Kinsey reported some women could reach orgasm from prolonged deep kissing without genital contact - it's called Chris Lynch Effect

- Some context on the Wilson Ramos kidnapping story: An American talks about his experiences playing in Venezuela

- Improv Everywhere is Awesome!

- The history of the beer growler. The Growler would be a great name for a WWE wrestler. He would be an angry drunk guy - look out it's the Growler!

- Excellent piece on the origins of tonight's UNC-MSU game aboard USS Carl Vinson