No one could have foreseen how fast the changes to college football would come when athletes became able to market themselves, but it is obvious that the changes are going to humongous. Already the change is apparent…
Guard Mikey Williams won’t be eligible for the NBA draft until 2024 and still has nearly two years to decide on whether to play college basketball or go pro immediately. However, Williams is a start on social media and with that, comes money. Williams has more than 5 million followers across multiple platforms which has made him the first prep basketball star to sign with a major sports representation agency to pursue name, image and likeness endorsements and sponsorships (“NIL”).
Williams, a San Diego native who will attend Lake Norman Christian in Huntersville, North Carolina, and play for Vertical Academy, has signed a deal with Excel Sports Management that Excel vice president Matt Davis said he believes “will generate millions of dollars for this young man. Mikey’s relevance around his peers in the basketball community is off the charts,” Davis told ESPN. “He’s one of the most relevant personalities in the basketball community. His digital and social following speak for themselves.”
Williams, 17, is the No. 7 overall prospect in ESPN’s Top 100 for the Class of 2023. His significant prominence among Generation Z has afforded him the chance to be a groundbreaking high school athlete in the NIL marketplace. Williams will be the model for young athletes to come. I’m certain many prep and college athletes are studying the shooting guard’s playbook for how to market oneself and monetize it.
The universities are not taking this lying down. Multiple sources spoke to ESPN confirming that Oklahoma and Texas have reached out to the SEC about possibly joining the conference. The Houston Chronicle, which first reported the story, cited an unnamed college official and said an announcement could come within a couple of weeks.
Both Texas and Oklahoma released similar statements on Wednesday, which made me think about the film “All The President’s Men,” a nondenial denial – corporate double speak. “Speculation always swirls around collegiate athletics,” a Texas spokesman said in a statement. “We will not address rumors or speculation.” Said Oklahoma in a statement: “The college athletics landscape is shifting constantly. We don’t address every anonymous rumor.”
Reportedly, Big 12 athletic directors and administrators are meeting Thursday evening to discuss the situation. Already, there has been speculation that if OU and Texas leave, the Big 12 Conference is dead. Not that this will be smooth sailing for the schools to move. Missouri and Texas A&M, who both joined the Big 12 in 2012 are expected to be dead set against it. Yesterday at SEC media day, Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said he will be “diligent in our approach to protect Texas A&M. We want to be the only SEC program in the state of Texas,” Bjork said. “There’s a reason why Texas A&M left the Big 12 — to be standalone, to have our own identity.”
Bjork said he and fellow SEC athletic directors had not discussed bringing Texas and Oklahoma into the conference. According to the SEC bylaws regarding conference membership, “a vote of at least three-fourths of the members is required to extend an invitation for membership,” or in this case, 11 of the 14 schools.
The athlete being able to earn based on his/her NIL has already turned the business model of college athletics upside down. Money that would be flowing exclusively to the schools and universities is now going to go, rightfully to the athletes. The NCAA may be on life support; the conferences may be next. Will there be one “College Football League,” with the conferences being East, Southeast, Midwest, Mountain, Southwest and West for example? How will that work and may there build another big monolith to negotiate television contracts and split the still hefty profits?
It going to be interesting to see, but we who will be watching had better keep our eyes open. It’s going to be very quick and often very disruptive to the status quo.

Blackhawks fans have seen the core of the three Stanley Cup Champions, and each farewell has been bittersweet and sad. Some went by trade because of salary cap issues like Andrew Ladd, Brandon Saad, and Nick Leddy; some have retired – Marion Hossa, Brett Seabrook, and Corey Crawford who was traded then retired. No parting is sadder to the fans than the trade on Duncan Keith.
Keith and forward prospect Tim Soderlund were traded yesterday to Edmonton in exchange for defenseman Caleb Jones and a conditional third-round draft pick in 2022. The third-round selection will become a second-rounder if the Oilers advance to the Stanley Cup Final in 2022 and Keith finishes Top 4 in ice time among Oilers defensemen during those three rounds.
No one lived through the lows, highs and lows than Duncan Keith. In his 16 years with the team, he steadied the blue line when the Hawks were lousy, and was a foundation when the Hawks drafted Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane and signed free agents like Hossa. If Keith doesn’t play another minute of hockey for the rest of his life, he will be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He has won three Stanley Cups, two Norris Trophies (2010, 2014) as the league’s best defenseman and the 2015 Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the postseason MVP, Keith was selected for the NHL All-Star Game in 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2017. In International play, Keith has two Gold Medals.
All this is not bad for a 2002 second-round draft pick. He scored 105 goals — one of only four Hawks defensemen to top 100 — and had 520 assists in 1,192 games for the Hawks, the second-most in franchise history behind Stan Mikita (1,394). An iron man, Keith led the Hawks in ice time in all 16 of his seasons, averaging 23 minutes, 25 seconds in 54 games in 2021.
There are few times in which there is no loser in this deal. The Blackhawks fulfilled Keith’s wish; he approached the team requesting a trade to the West coast to be closer to son and family. For once, the Hawks will not be taking a PR hit, since Keith wanted to go and for a valid reason. The Hawks won even more because, as much as it hurts, the soon-to-be 38-year-old defenseman is a shadow of his former self. He can no longer lead the rush or make cross-ice passes as before, many of them leading to opponent breakaways and pucks at the back of our net. Stories I’ve heard is that Keith isn’t the smartest guy (hockey player? Pucks to the head?) and my fault was that he never seemed to change his game to match his declining skills and adjust. He still thinks he can do what he did in 2014. The Hawks also win because the Oilers will be paying all of the remaining two seasons at $5 million per season. The player they get Caleb Jones is much younger, 24, and cheaper – $800,000 per year.
The Oilers won because this is a team that desperately needs positive playoff experience and a better blue line. The Oilers have bowed out in the first round/play-in series the last two seasons despite having the top two scorers in the game: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Playoff hockey gets more defensive, there’s less open ice, so the big scorers are going to find it more difficult to score. These are not the only issues that Edmonton needs to address: Their top two scorers are on the same line – there’s no depth on the other lines; despite Keith’s acquisition, the defense is still suspect; and the Oilers can’t be counting on 40-year-old Mike Smith in goal. Keith is no longer a number 1 defenseman, but he gets to be closer to home, still play a lot and walk into the locker room as an automatic leader.
To be honest, Chicago fans get to retain their memories of Hall of Famer Duncan Keith, instead of watching the further deterioration of Keith’s skills. That said however, Keith will always be a Blackhawk, just as Bobby Orr will always be a Bruin despite finishing his career in Chicago. The NHL 2021-2022 schedule is supposed to be released very soon. One thing is certain – the first Oiler game in Chicago will feature numerous standing ovations, a highlight video that will be heartrending. Bring lots of Kleenex.

I remain a child of my parents, even though they are long gone from this mortal coil. There’s nothing that infuriates me more than embarrassing Black people on television. I know I shouldn’t take responsibility for what other Black people do or say, but my grandparents never wanted Black athletes and broadcasters to embarrass themselves in front of white people. I can’t help it. As a result, readers know that I can’t stand Stephen A. Smith and this week, he said something so stupid, so racist, so ignorant that he actually walked back his comments about baseball wunderkind Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani was the number one seed in last night’s home run derby, and he will also be the starting pitcher for the American League and batting lead off and being DH later in the game. There are lots of people including some pitchers who are saying that Ohtani, while a deserving All-Star, he should not be the starter. Honestly, the All Star Game is an exhibition, so I’m OK with Ohtani playing and starting and getting people to turn in for the start of the game and maybe staying around for awhile. It worked on me last night for the derby.
I digress. Smith, who is just the latest sports performer who stirs up controversy daily, even when there isn’t any. This week’s controversy started on Monday when Smith addressed the breakout stardom of Ohtani, who currently leads the major leagues with 33 home runs and made this year’s All-Star Game as both a pitcher and a hitter Smith stated that Ohtani’s inability to speak English was bad for baseball’s marketability: “The fact that you’ve got a foreign player that doesn’t speak English, that needs an interpreter, believe it or not I think contributes to harming the game to some degree when that’s your box office appeal… I don’t think it helps that the Number 1 face is a dude that needs an interpreter so you can understand what the hell he’s saying.”
The blowback came fast and furious which had Smith trying to clarify his comment instead of just apologizing. Smith said that people are ‘misinterpreting’ his comments instead of just making an apology. Finally, he Tweeted that he’s “sincerely sorry” for his comments. “Let me apologize right now,” Smith said in the tweet. “As I’m watching things unfold, let me say that I never intended to offend ANY COMMUNITY, particularly the Asian community — and especially SHOHEI Ohtani, himself. As an African-American, keenly aware of the damage stereotyping has done to many in this country, it shouldn’t elevated my sensitivities even more. Based on my words, I failed in that regard and it’s on me, and me alone!”
To me, Stephen A. Smith is the ESPN minstrel show. He is opinionated, loud, trying to be “street,” allowing white viewers to look down on a Black person on television. Smith makes an estimated $17 million per year, the most for any personality on the network and I saw a meme earlier today that he makes more money than 77% of NBA players (I’m not standing behind that as fact). I have said that Smith is unwatchable, an embarrassment. I say that he’s Stepin’ Fetchit crossed with a very bad Dave Chappelle wannabe. I am certain that eventually Smith will say something so outrageous that he will get fired. I had hoped this would be the trigger (and it still may yet). But I am 1000% certain that it’s coming.

The issues that hover around international sport have come to a definite head this week, and neither the IOC nor any of the other governing bodies are ready for the backlash.
First off: the long-delayed Tokyo Summer Olympics are scheduled to start in a couple of weeks and the Shadow of Covid continues to hang over the Games. Postponed last year due to the pandemic, the Games are on, but a spike in transmissions in Japan has forced the games into a bubble for the athletes and no live spectators allowed, exposing that the Games are solely for television. This may justify the large amounts of money paid by television networks across the globe, but it is a further nail in the coffin of communities spending billions of dollars on no structures.
As I’ve noted here several times, the gigantic white elephant stadiums that have been built around the world and seldom or never reused have exposed the Olympic sham of “build it and they will come” that has generated billions to the International Olympic Committee. Add to the fact that the Olympics get all of the ticket and television, and often the parking and concession money, there’s no way a country, state or municipality should guarantee the huge amounts of money. Last I checked, the IOC was having difficulty finding locations willing to bid on future Games.
On top of that, the inherent racism that has always plagued the Games has again reared its ugly head. First, the IOC had to walk back its ban on political protests at these Games. The total ban has been updated three times in 18 months and last Friday, the IOC relented to allow athletes make gestures of protest, which probably diffused a number of protests just because there’s nothing that gains notoriety like protesting a ban on speech. (Of course, many GOP and MAGA types wanted to throw African-American hammer thrower Gwen Berry for raising her fist in one instance and turning away from the national anthem in another.) Still the IOC will still levy disciplinary action if the gesture is “targeted directly or indirectly against people, countries, organizations” or is disruptive – like disturbing other athletes who are in the process of competing.
As I stated last week, American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, a medal favorite in the 100-meter dash at the upcoming Olympics, tested positive for marijuana last month and won’t be able to run her signature race at the Tokyo Games. Ms. Richardson tested positive for THC, the primary psychoactive compound of cannabis. The positive test occurred after Richardson won the 100 at U.S. Olympic Trials on June 19 and was in response to her finding out that her birth mother had died. It was expected that Ms. Richardson’s suspension would end in time for her to participate in the 400 relay, but the U.S. Olympic Committee doubled down by not even naming her to the team, so she is out of the Olympics altogether.
Further showing that these organizations are tone deaf to athletes of color, The International Swimming Federation made a ruling banning the “Soul Cap,” a product tailor-made so that swimmers with Afro-textured hair can protect their hair while in the water. On Wednesday, June 30, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) rejected an application from Soul Cap, which was established in 2017. FINA claims, given the organization’s “best knowledge, the athletes competing at the International events never used, neither require to use, caps of such size and configuration.” They further stated that the caps don’t follow “the natural form of the head.” In effect the old white men that make up FINA ruled that this is unknown to them and assumes that people of color don’t have natural heads. Never mind that the cap and hair actually causes drag, which will slow the swimmer down, so they are prohibiting something that the athletes know aren’t performance enhancing, but performance inhibiting.
So, like the IOC, FINA says it will “revisit” its decision barring the cap. Unfortunately, no ruling appears to be upcoming for sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. Plus, there’ll be no audiences, which should mean no hotels, no travel income, no ticket revenue, so the IOC and Tokyo’s take will be much lower.
I don’t know how international sports and the Olympics, but like so much in this nearly post-pandemic, review of systemic racism, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb in saying that it will not be the same.

ESPN has been great for sports and also, not so good. According to reports however, “The Worldwide Leader in Sports has a toxic workplace environment. This week, the New York Times revealed comments made last year by Rachel Nichols, who is white, when she learned that Maria Taylor, who is Black, would host ESPN’s studio show for the 2020 NBA Finals at Walt Disney World. Video of Nichols’ conversation, held in her hotel room, was recorded accidentally. It became available to employees through an ESPN server. Nichols said: “I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball. If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
Nichols said that July 13, 2020 according to the Times, and ESPN still allowed her to work the Finals the next month as the sideline reporter. She was supposed to handle the same job at the Finals this season, but after her comments became public, ESPN replaced her with Malika Andrews, who is Black. Nichols still is hosting her daily NBA show, “The Jump,” though it was pulled this past Tuesday without explanation.
It is not at all a surprise that ESPN has a bad environment. For those who remember, in 2011 a book was published called “Those Guys Have All The Fun” by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales. It reminded about Jim Rome being nearly slapped by Jim Evert after Rome constantly called him tennis Hall of Famer “Chris Evert;” right wing racist Rush Limbaugh hired to provide commentary on NFL Countdown, until he made an inflammatory remark about Black quarterback Donovan McNabb. Even with all of that, the book described a true atmosphere like a frat house. Women were disrespected, the Playboy Channel was put on to get women’s reaction. Ms. Nichols has a true point in calling out ESPN’s “crappy longtime record of diversity.” (I also say that my most hated broadcaster Stephen A. Smith, very well paid but a stereotypical Black voice that white people can look down upon. Stepin’ Fetchit mixed with Dave Chappelle.)
Considering that this is an entertainment network, with broadcasters who are stars and likely having huge egos, I can see a problem between on air talent. It makes it bad when it’s two women, especially one a woman of color, but recent studies and books have shown how racist white women have been over the decades. However, I can understand wanting to fight for your job especially in light of the fact that ESPN’s Disney parent has chopped staff with corporate elan that would make Jeff Bezos look like the CEO of Costco. These cuts, to long-time, well respected broadcasters come as a result of Disney, while making billions of dollars aren’t making enough money per share for the almighty shareholders. I would think that unless you are at the top of the pyramid, anyone can find themselves on the unemployment line.
What is so staggering is the fact that ESPN has let this go on for over a year. There’s no reason to keep this smoldering, unless you are just another bureaucrat looking to keep the problem a secret. But in today’s information filled world, secrets don’t exist anymore. This story wasn’t even an Internet blog – this came out from good old fashioned newspaper reporting.
I admit that I have always thought that my dream would be to work for ESPN. I know people who do and did work for them. However, as a subscriber to NHL Center Ice, I am concerned about ESPN getting hockey back next season after ignoring them and banishing them to a little channel called Versus which eventually became NBC Sports Network, which will soon disappear. NBCSN generally did a good job with hockey, despite having neanderthal Mike Mulbury on the air far too long and Jeremy Roenick engaging in inappropriate comments about Katheryn Tappen. Anyway, as often as ESPN has done a great job in covering sports, often, it has created problems that are just as abhorrent.

In Illinois, where I live, marijuana is legal – sold in stores like booze. While I’ve never really indulged in weed myself, I know for a fact from my years as an usher at concerts and sporting events, stoners were about as dangerous as sleepy puppies, unlike drunks, who in general want to fight. I get the local suburban newspaper to keep track of what’s happening around here, and I can’t understand the people who are being arrested for having cannabis. It’s legal, isn’t it? I guess it’s legal if you got it from the primarily white people who own the stores and they can’t have competition from the old dealers, can they?
By the same token (no pun intended), World and therefore, the U.S. Doping Agencies list marijuana as a performance enhancing drug. This is coming to a head now because American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, a medal favorite in the 100-meter dash at the upcoming Olympics, tested positive for marijuana last month and won’t be able to run her signature race at the Tokyo Games. Ms. Richardson tested positive for THC, the primary psychoactive compound of cannabis. The positive test occurred after Richardson won the 100 at U.S. Olympic Trials on June 19.
Ms. Richardson came out and apologized and said that she used marijuana while in Oregon where cannabis is legal, when she heard about the death of her biological mother in an interview. Unlike steroids, marijuana is only banned on race day starting at 11:59 PM the day before the race. It is possible that her suspension will end in time for her to participate in the 400 relay, but she was the odds-on favorite to win the 100-yard dash, and with her flamboyant blond braids in the breeze behind her, this could cost her millions of dollars in endorsements.
Personally, I think that she should be allowed to compete. Anyone who wins the race without her has a tarnished win. I also understand that these are the rules and others have been punished similarly, most notably swimmer Michael Phelps. It doesn’t help that Ms. Richardson is American, which the rest of the world feels that we cheat; add that Ms. Richardson is a woman of color, which creates another layer of controversy. The science is inconclusive on this point. It would relax an athlete and perhaps if that person is very shy, this could help. However, then give everyone the opportunity to use it. Any improvement in training, stamina, has not been proven to this point, so I think its time for the doping agencies to get rid of the antiquated tests and bans for marijuana and allow Ms. Richardson to race.
I would think that only drawback would be if the race ran past a food stand – that could end the race really quickly…

With college athletes able to earn money through endorsements and hire agents, I guess it would be inevitable that formerly suspended athletes would be looking to go back and have their suspensions removed for the record. The first athlete stepping up to bat is former USC tailback Reggie Bush.
One the very first day of eligibility, Bush released a statement regarding the reinstatement of his Heisman Trophy and other achievements from his star-studded career at USC. “It is my strong belief that I won the Heisman Trophy ‘solely’ due to my hard work and dedication on the football field and it is also my firm belief that my records should be reinstated,” Bush stated.
For those who don’t remember, Bush won the Heisman 2005 but was forced to forfeit it after the NCAA ruled that he received impermissible benefits while playing at USC. The Trojans program was hit with severe sanctions and had to vacate all the games Bush played while ineligible including the 2005 Orange Bowl that gave the Trojans the national title. On top of that, the NCAA forced USC to permanently disassociate itself from Bush, who went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL.
The tide had been turning toward athletes getting paid, and also for players who had been disassociated from schools to be reinstated, but not officially by the NCAA since the organization cannot totally ruke over the schools. USC reinstated Bush at a game last season (since this occurred during the pandemic, I’ll let you Gentle Reader make your own joke here). Now that he has been reunited with USC, Bush wants his Heisman Trophy back. His recent efforts have gone unanswered. Bush said he and his team have reached out to both the Heisman Trust and the NCAA, but neither party has been receptive to his communications.
This may be wrong of me, but I really don’t think the powers that be should return his trophy. It’s not just that Bush received benefits beyond the scholarship, room and board and books – his parents pocketed reportedly between $100,000 and $250,000 from USC boosters and others. His claims of innocence were quickly dashed when pictures of the house his folks lived in were published. USC lost a national title and Head Coach Pete Carroll fled the NCAA posse by going to Seattle and coaching the Seahawks.
This whole thing is hypocritical in the highest manner. The NCAA made millions off its “officially” unpaid workers, but for top players, big money “finds its way to them.” I remember the old joke back in the 1980s that Eric Dickerson took a pay cut by leaving SMU when he was drafted by the Rams (of course, SMU got hit by the “death penalty” from the NCAA for all of the violations uncovered). Reportedly, much money “flowed” to Cam Newton’s parents when he left the University of Florida and ended up at Auburn. Of course, that worked out fairly well for Auburn. Maybe we should look at Reggie Bush in the same light?
In the final reckoning, I guess it doesn’t really matter if Bush is reinstated and gets his Heisman back. He still underperformed in the NFL.