As allegations of Rich Rodriguez overworking his Michigan football team keep pouring in, it made me wonder what the big deal was. The obvious answers are that those in charge don't want the players becoming exhausted and that they need time to study for class. The fact is no players from Michigan's team have reported any signs of injury in relation to being overworked. In addition, I don't buy the whole "they're student-athletes and need to study" card that the NCAA tries to play every now and then. First of all, most student-athletes aren't taking the hardest classes during their season, that's not being lazy or cheating the system, that's just smart. All college majors will have you take plenty of unnecessary fluff courses and it only makes sense to get those out of the way when you have the least amount of free time. Secondly, student-athletes don't have to go out and have a part-time job while in college so they will have much more free time than the average college student. There's also the number of staff members that are looking over their shoulders at all times to make sure that they're keeping up on their studies. There is no excuse as to why teams can't practice more than the current regulated time and be successful in the classroom. I'm not saying these kids should be treated like pros who have nothing else to do but play football, but for all of the perks that come with being an athlete in a big money sport like football, at big time colleges, they can afford to spend some more time on the field than current rules allow. In the end, Rich Rodriguez will be fired or retained at Michigan based on his team's wins and losses. Another season like last year's 3-win debacle and he won't be in Ann Arbor much longer.
On to other thoughts, I'm sick and tired of hearing about the college football season in all of these preseason shows and whatnot. I just want them to start playing, and fortunately this weekend is the kickoff of my favorite sport. Monday at 4:00 the Cincinnati Bearcats start defending their Big East Championship at the state university of New Jersey. I understand the marketing that the Big East Conference is trying to do here, but I really don't like the idea of making the defending champ go on the road to start the year. If they want to create a first week conference matchup to draw some ratings, why not pick 2 of the top teams from the previous season like the #2 or #3 teams or at least let the champs celebrate their first game at home, similar to how the NFL has the Super Bowl Champion host the Thursday night kickoff game. Anyways, it's going to be a great holiday weekend for football. Saturday will be filled with college football, Sunday Elder hosts Colerain on ESPN so the whole world can experience the greatness of The Pit, and Monday the Bearcats look to start strong and take control of the Big East race. To get you in the mood for Bearcats football, enjoy the following.
No comments:
Post a Comment