It’s that time of year again. No, it isn’t October yet. It’s time for the College World Series. This is an item on my “bucket list.” I wish I had been able to attend when it was held in the old ballpark, but it’s still on my list. The final eight teams are all there [...]
Professional athletics are business, BIG business. So, what is the business of sports and what does it mean? It means that decision-making is governed by profit and loss just like any other type of business. Problems occur when decisions are influenced by other levels of sports, or thinking it should look like the college version. [...]
When I was a kid, May was track and field month. Of course, the track and field season was longer than just a month, but the premiere event was the West Coast Relays (WCR) in Fresno, CA. I think I was 12 years old when my Dad and I attended my first of many WCR’s. [...]
College basketball is over. One of the better Final Fours is complete. Viewed in person by an average of 77,000 per night. The North Carolina Tarheels leave Arizona with the Championship Trophy. All three games in the Final Four went down to the wire. And, North Carolina was the only team with experience. In fact, [...]
My first Final Four was in Portland, Oregon, 1965, between UCLA, University of Michigan, Princeton and Wichita State University. It was held in the Portland Coliseum that seated 13,000 and change. I am not sure it was even sold out. A return engagement for John Wooden’s Bruins (1964 Champs). Michigan was a power in the [...]
No disrespect to Jimmy Stewart, but the new “Greatest Show” is March Madness. The number of people caught up in the process to name the best intercollegiate basketball team is second to none. The number of people that are involved in this show is staggering. There is the obvious. It begins with the conference tournaments. [...]
March Madness? Actually, the madness really begins in February. I think keeping their teams in present time is a BIG challenge for coaches. This is not true in all cases, but worth paying attention to. Let’s take a minute to look at the various situations that can become distractions. THE SUREFIRE “INs” These are [...]
This weekend, a big-time Division I football coach was fired; in September! I have been involved with the world of sports longer than most anyone who might be reading this. I can count the times a mid-season firing has made any difference on one hand. The victim of this farce is Les Miles at Louisiana [...]
This week’s Sports Illustrated has an article on the prep schools and other organizations designed to get the teen basketball phenoms an opportunity to fulfill their intentions to play, not in college, but the NBA. All of them carry the “next stop NBA tag” imposed by the people around them. The jury is still out [...]
“Of course there is you say.” Look at all the technology we have that is quickly obliterated by the next new thing. What doesn’t change much is who uses the changes in a particular way. That would be the human beings of a particular generation. For example, in the world of collegiate athletics there is [...]