Our Friday Hemingway Asks. . .
In the age of NIL, how do college sports programs balance their budgets?
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A return Hemingway engagement from Mobster Gary Owen. His topics: (1) Who gets paid in college sports? (2) The prospects of the Kansas (no City) Chiefs. (3) A life-changing book and (4) whose land is this, anyway?
If you’re interested in my take on Thursday night’s unfortunate debate, it’s also posted.
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Greetings, TML world! The man in charge has approved another visit to the pulpit, and I am truly honored. The critical issue at hand in today’s seminar – Capitalism Taking Over College Sports – is central to our collective fandom.
It is indisputable that the professional model is prowling the campus, and it is our purpose here to understand the argument at its core. The data set to be examined is a recent Louisville Courier-Journal article by Brooks Holton about the release of University of Louisville sports budget for 2024-2025. No need to read it necessarily for our purposes since the questions are self-evident.
First, everything about this new future is still subject to Title IX considerations. Should the sharing of exorbitant football TV revenues fall proportionally along gender lines, or should the financial rewards go to the sex that earned them? Use the WNBA for reference?
Second, limiting roster sizes is a central consideration for college sports executives. Cost control from eliminating Olympic sports is also on the table. Do labor cost savings outweigh Rudy’s occasional appearance at various legendary moments? Was he really that interesting after all?
Third, the need to control labor costs is paramount in any business. A typical role in a college sports administration (Sports Information Director) was eliminated at UofL to hold down costs. Have we been wasting money on SIDs for years?
Fourth, the solution for all this mayhem is obvious. Football ticket prices must rise appreciably. Luring fans back for Ville hoops is important too, but the question is, to be clear, how much more will you pay for the entertainmen? Remember: HDTV’s are the bomb.
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The NFL stadium news out of the Midwest is concerning. Apparently, the great state of Kansas has decided to make a move to pirate the Chiefs and Royals to the west bank of the Missouri River. The Kansas legislature and governor have signed off on providing 70% of the bonds necessary to get Mahomey out of Arrowhead into a new palace in the Sunflower State. My first thought reading this was about the local angle, and then I shook my head and said no way, Jose. But the question here: Does moving across the Missouri River solve the money issue without the fandom ruination of the typical thousand-mile migration? If you’re a Chiefs fan paying taxes on the Missouri side, why not let Kansas have the team? It’s just across the river, not Indy or Mobtown or south LA.
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Because Books are my life, I must mention a novel I read recently that changed the way I view human behavior. “Grace”, a novel by one of my favorite Irish authors, Paul Lynch, is the story of a young teenage woman who is forced to leave her family home during the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840’s because her single mother doesn’t have enough food to feed her and her younger brothers. Her mother cuts her hair short and dresses her as a boy and tells her to get out and find her own way wherever the trail leads. The novel follows her migration around the Emerald Isle including a period in County Monaghan where my family origins are found. Similar to The Grapes of Wrath, this chilling description of famine and the varied maintenance of civil order is both shocking and compelling. If you think the world is problematic now, this story might challenge your reference points. So, the question today is, have you read a book that forced you to rewrite your understanding of life?
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And now, the Rural Report. Recent events required me to learn more about the property law system in Kentucky regarding our family farm. If you have ever read deed descriptions for farm properties in the Bluegrass, you know that the English metes and bounds system inherited from being part of Virginia earlier was a mess of lines between streams and boulders and mountain peaks and what not. Fortunately, I had read a book in recent years called Owning the Earth and it explained why late 18th century property law was at fault. Because of arguments between multiple claimants to the same parcels of land, a lawyer in 1816 predicted that “titles in Kentucky will be disputed for a century to come”. At our farm in Kentucky, I have told a few people deer hunting they were trespassing and had to leave and then found out later I was completely wrong after having the property surveyed.
This contrasted with well written and easily understood property deeds for family farms in Illinois and Iowa that I managed until we sold them in recent years.
For the Northwest Territories acquired in the Revolutionary War, Congress set up a Public Lands System based on a survey process originated at a specific location in East Liverpool, Ohio. What I am getting around to saying is if you live north of the Ohio River and you own property, the assurance that what you think you own is significantly higher than south of the river. Not only that, the need for title insurance is also minimized. Get this, in Iowa, title insurance is prohibited because the state controls property transfers.
This leads to my latest attempt at Stick to Sports. We all rant and rave about what government should and shouldn’t do, but we must give credit wherever it is truly due. Our ancestors proved that government could work with efforts like the Public Lands System. When in 1787 it became clear that the “metes and bounds” system was an indisputable mess, Congress acted and made property law better. All of the states past #15 (Kentucky) benefitted from that recognition. To me, reading about this ancient legislative action gave me renewed faith that what we are unhappy about currently will still be worked out at some point before the advent of the Second American Civil War. To quote Abraham Lincoln, “as a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide”.
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Finally, Jimi Hendrix changed my life. When I first heard his song “Little Wing”, the phrase “butterflies and zebras” reminded me of all the positive energy that women in my life had generated. Women in my family had as much say as men, if not more. And for the most part, they were positrons that exuded love and commitment. Can’t say if that’s exactly what Jimi meant, but it’s what I got out of it. Until next time, TML!
AND NOW. . .
Hey Michelle! puts some pep in your weekend step and. . . some glide in your stride, some hip in your dip, some move in your groove.
Oakley Greens ~ Grand Opening! Golf lovers be ready.. this fantastic spot nestled in Oakley has 2 high end 18 hole mini golf courses. It also has great food, amazing cocktails, a ton of huge TVs, a playground for the kids, rentable party areas and more.
Panegyri Festival ~ The Greek Festival full of food, dance and fun! Friday-Sunday 7000 Winton Rd.
Hyde Park Blast ~ Not just a run, bike fundraiser .. but it really is a blast.. food, drink, bands and fun all day and night! 7:30am-11pm Saturday Benefitting The Cure Starts Now
Opening of The Culture: Hip Hop & Contemporary Art in the 21st Century runs June 28th-Sept 29th
Concerts~
Santana & Counting Crows Riverbend 7pm Friday
Kenny Chesney ~ TQL Stadium Saturday
Buddy Guy ~ Taft Theater Saturday
Upper Deck Golf 10-9 Friday & Saturday 7am-8pm Sunday at Great American Ballpark. Play a round of golf inside the home of the Reds… See you there!
All American Birthday ~ Sawyer Point Saturday 4-10 everything automotive.. from muscle cars to cutting edge.. over 200 cars will be on show, live music
Florence Y’alls ~ play Friday & Saturday against the Gateway Grizzlies
Michelle Dorward Jones
HeyMichelle1 on Insta follow along
Promoting restaurants, bars and all things fun in Cincinnati & travel
Imbiber Dave gets his summer on. . .
For as long as I can remember, many of my greatest summer memories happened poolside.
When we have parties at our house, we always serve way too much food, and spoil the kids with tons of sugar and associated health foods. Not to be outdone, most swim clubs push the all time classic Slushie. Does anyone know how to buy Slushie futures?
We’ve had our share of swim meets that require work in between the potentially fun downtime. Again, please see the section on slushies. Oh and don’t forget the snacks like sour patch ropes and Nerd clusters. These have been forged in a particle accelerator, so they have 12 grams of sugar for every one gram in those lame candy cigarettes we used to smoke as kids.
Don’t worry, we adults are doing just fine, too. Seltzers always work on a hot day. Rhinegeist Cincy Light is tasting great this year. Plus, you need to weave some poolside cocktails into your weeknights or long weekends. Try an Aperol Spritz, Paloma, or a batch of St Germaine with champagne and you’ll be an imbibing hero at your next party.
Cheers!
cincybeerguydave@gmail.com
TUNE O’ THE DAY. . . One to calm the nerves. Rumor was, Tommy James was writing about drugs, specifically psychedelics, when he penned this tune. James himself denied it, explaining that the words were meant to convey peace and hopefulness. We could use some right about now.
I love your song choice...it makes me happy and sad all at once....
Yesterday was busier than usual, including my brother coming up to hang out and have lunch. We got our Frisch’s to go and ate on our younger sister’s deck. Her boy cat Ryan had been begging to go out every day. Yesterday his dream came true. I opened the door and out he went. Not ready to come back in when we were ready to leave. When I stopped by after tending to the dog and cats at the other house , he was waiting at the back door. He’d had a fine adventure and hours in ninety degree heat. A nice barn to cool off in and lots of shade.
I will make note of Grace by Paul Lynch.
When I worked in Athletics at NKU, we hired J.D.Campbell as SID. He seemed born to the job. Last time I checked he was working with Indiana football. Cannot imagine a collegiate program at University level without someone doing that work. Louisville must be using a different title, likely with some administrative responsibility included.
Time to go raid my brother in law’s garden for a few minutes. Supposed to storm later today.