Category Archives: Sports Finance

Monday Morning Mayhem (Kinda, Sorta)

http://csaimages.com/images/istockprofile/csa_vector_dsp.jpg

Before we get started with another rasher of foolishness, some Coming Attractions.

Later this week — like in a day or two — yours truly’s anxiously anticipated, nationally heralded predictioneering about the upcoming college football campaign shall be revealed.

Seedy K’s Peerless Preseason Pigskin Prognostications are but hours away. So too, hopefully, arrival of my brickbat resistant armor from that Bezos fella. Then, because that’s really nothing more than an appetite whetter, next week come my ever prescient Week 0 game predictions.

Wyoming vs. Illinois. Vanderbilt vs. Hawai’i. Nebraska vs. Northwestern, from that hotbed of American football, Dublin, Ireland.  And more, perhaps.

And don’t tell me you won’t be watching. I know better, ready to pounce, should I in the unlikely event prove incorrect.

 * * * * *

Speaking of football across the pond, do you want to hear about yesterday’s West London Derby at Stamford Bridge between my faves, Tottenham Hotspur, and their hated arch-rival Chelsea?

Of course, you don’t.

But what if I told you how as heated events unfolded during and after the action, I was reminded of a specific U of L hoops game against the Cards’ egregiously disliked nemesis from down the road? Continue reading Monday Morning Mayhem (Kinda, Sorta)

Tuesday Tantrums: On the Court, In the Courthouse

Former future U of L superstar.

That’s the snarky phrase I’ve used time and time again through the years to denote some gotta-have-sure-to-get-but-didn’t recruit destined for Louisville but not as much as the fanbase hoped for recruit.

It may not be as cute terminology as once upon a time. But, hey, it’s tried and true.

Too late to stop now.

So, yes, that’s one of those guys, Fab Melo, you see at the top.

Which is my circuitous way of hinting that I’ll be addressing the whole D.J. Wagner tug o’ war saga in a bit.*

*No need to scroll down for some late breaking inside info. That ain’t happenin’. Just going to offer some perspective.

But, first, let’s head down to the courthouse to see what’s going on?

 * * * * *

Which is, imagine this, another lawsuit emanating from Louisville Cardinal athletics.

Will it never end? Continue reading Tuesday Tantrums: On the Court, In the Courthouse

Hump Day Hustle: Ch . . . Ch . . . Ch . . . Changes!

Now, as we bid a sad adieu to long time Cardinal fan favorite QB Luke McCaffery, let’s take a deep dive into his highlights in the red and black:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mean really, the memories, so many memories, they boggle the mind. What a career here.

It was, allow me to be brutally honest, really difficult to pick and choose.

I’m sure that CardChronicle.com pigskin guru Keith Wynne will weigh in soon. He’ll have a more astute analysis.

The whole transfer portal thing is wacky enough. And, truly hard for us old school guys to take a liking to.

But this, this is the reality of the current state of affairs in its most severe form.

Mobility reigns.

The kid couldn’t win the job at Nebraska. Transferred to U of L under the delusion he’d immediately become the top dog signal caller. Then, before ever taking to the practice field, realized that wasn’t the case. Nor, obviously it appears, does he have the gumption to try and work for the job.

Luke, got a suggestion for you: Missouri State.

Oh yeah, sayonara. So long, it’s been swell to know ya.

 * * * * *

So, I gots to ask this about Donovan Mitchell.

How come at U of L we never saw this transcendent player he’s become — one of, oh, the ten best in the NBA?

He averaged 7.4 and just under a couple of assists per game as a freshman, on the team that purposely sat out the tourney, per the school prexy. As a soph, he was leading scorer at 15.6, on a 25-9 team that captured U of L’s last NCAA W, a first rounder over Jacksonville State.

But he wasn’t, you know, the Donovan Mitchell who’s taken the NBA by storm, averaging 20.5 ppg and 3.7 apg and 3.7 rpg as a rookie. Increasing those numbers every single season.

Three 45 point playoff performances. Putting him in rare territory.

So, yeah, I wanna know?

Is he simply a late developer? A kid who didn’t discover his mojo until he donned a Jazz jersey?

Or, was he handcuffed as a collegian, by his coach, who advised him he wasn’t ready to play for pay?

Asking for a friend?

 * * * * *

Read a great article today about all the changes in college hoops, and how schools are having to change and add to their staffs.

Analytical experts.

Marketing savants.

Specialized recruiting authorities. For prepsters and portal dwellers.

It’s a whole new game. As if you haven’t noticed.

Which is one of the reasons, I’ve become totally comfortable with Chris Mack’s staff changes.

The idea of Ross McMains is growing on me.

Seems like a bold move.

If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just push him in the portal.

— c d kaplan

Sports = $$$: Best and Worst Deals Ever

joeyToday’s Query: What would possibly make a man of my advanced age, with no hops, bad hips (regularly scheduled physical therapy), a shooting touch that has made coaches wince, teammates cringe and foes ebullient through the years, what could make that guy daydream about pulling his long unused b-ball off the shelf in storage, pumping it up, putting on my Wes Unseld Cardinal throwback, overworn low cut black chucks and going out to take a few jumpers? Just to see if he still has his stuff, don’t you know?

Well, for one, a guy named Lavoy Allen — Heard of him? Know who he plays for? Didn’t think so. — is going to make $3.5 mill next season. Joe Ingles — haven’t a clue — will take home $2.1 with five more zeros attached. Matthew Dellavedova will deposit in his account just short of $10 mill next season, which works out to at least a couple of hundred thou for each dirty play.

I trust you get my point. There are lots of professional basketball players, who are making obscene amounts of money, simply to sit on the bench and ogle the babes in the Jack Nicholson seats.

And this: The latest reported figures indicate big time college sports is breaking the bank. SEC schools each take home $30+++ million from the league. ACC schools have passed the $25+ million mark, with more on the way with the new TV contract.

It all seems so obscene. And, perhaps, is. But as long as guys want to gather at BW3, eat faux “wings,” quaff some Buds and watch games, the trend shall not abate.

It’s Money Ball über alles.

Which got me to thinking. A scary proposition, but one I engage in every once in awhile, whether I need to or not. Given what’s happened with money aspects of big time sports, what have been the best and worst financial deals ever in the history of sports?

Worst first. Continue reading Sports = $$$: Best and Worst Deals Ever