Salary For College Players!?

I guess there has been a large enough group of people, albeit still way in the minority, who feel that college players (especially football) should be receiving some sort of compensation for playing sports. This has got to be the single most idiotic idea out there. I can't believe there are that many fans of college sports out there who believe this should be the case. Ask anyone close to the game on a college or professional level and 99,999 out of 100,000 will tell you the same.

First of all, do people not realize that they are already compensated? I checked a few sites, including school sites. The average tuition is about $10,000 at a public university (that's in-state...out-of-state jumps up to around $24,000) and $27,000 at a private university. College players get scholarships. A free education, of which the initial investment is about $40,000 without interest. The rest of us have to pay them off via student loans which, depending on how long it takes to pay it off, usually ends up closer to $55,000 - $60,000. That's a lot of money!

Aside from a free college education, these players are given a lot of stuff (legally) on campus. They get the hottest girls, tickets to shows, parties, and breaks when it comes to academics. Think Nick Saban wouldn't "talk" to Mark Ingram's teacher if he was in any danger of becoming ineligible for the season? Think anyone would talk to that same teacher if Joe Schmo was failing? They also get free trips, athletic gear, shirts and jerseys, and all kinds of equipment & memorabilia.

So my first point is that they're already plenty compensated for playing college sports. High school sports make money...should their players get paid, too?

Secondly, to those who say college players should get paid, I'd like for them to be the ones to draw out the plans to do so. How much money should each sport get paid? Should football players get paid more than basketball players because they bring in more money? What about female basketball players, should they get paid the same? Then the big question, should each university pay their players the same amount? If they don't, the schools that make more will be paying more. This means more recruits for Florida, Ohio State, Penn State, USC, Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami, Florida State, & Michigan. Guess what that leaves for Boise State, TCU, New Mexico, Wyoming, Villanova, Western Tennessee, Utah State, BYU, Utah, Indiana, Washington State, North Carolina State, Baylor, & Missouri - nothing. If the big boys can pay out more, they're going to get the best players. If you think the gap between BCS schools and non-BCS schools is big NOW, it will be even bigger if we start paying college players. So after a while, 60% of schools will really have NO money because they won't get any talent. Don't be naive, ONLY football is big enough to support a school. Sorry Duke, North Carolina, and the Big East - if your football programs stink, so will your school. The top 5 basketball programs last year made a combined $70 million. Guess what Texas football made? $72 million. Not even close.

So once most of the schools start to go under & have to cut programs because their expenses just increased across the board (a lot of schools have more than 30 sports), that leaves only a few schools to actually compete in athletics. Not that schools bring in a ton of money in college sports compared to their expenditures. In fact, most of the large schools don't make money every year - they lose it. The Yankees have the biggest revenue streams in baseball but they don't make money, they lose it every year. Why? Because it's worth it to their fans. They overpay for their players, for their products. That's why ticket prices have skyrocketed. Same in college sports. To pay all the coaches, staff, travel expenses, food expenses, and other things, most schools don't end up making any money. So what would increasing their expenses do? Nothing positive.

So please, even if none of these things were an issue, I'd like to see someone come up with a plan for how we're going to pay these athletes. After all, the NFL, MLB, & NBA can't do it; there's a lockout looming this year with the NBA and possibly the NFL next year. And these are PROFESSIONAL sports! You think the NCAA would do a BETTER job of policing money and contracts?! They have the worst track record of all 4 of these sports!!

So in a down economy, let's take money from our educational system and give more of it to athletes. That would be best, right?

NFL Predictions

The NFL playoffs are almost here, quenching the thirst of angry anti-BCS football-watchers everywhere. I'll go through both conferences to see what the possible outcomes are. There aren't as many as you may think.

The AFC...34-30 vs. the NFC

I won't go through seeding, just teams. 5 are in:

Pittsburgh

Baltimore

New York Jets

New England

Kansas City

The last week will determine whether Indy or Jacksonville gets in. It doesn't matter in either case in terms of who will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Only 4 of these teams have shots.

Pittsburgh... Great coaching, well-run organization, knows how to win, QB who's good enough to win it for them. Their defense is pretty solid despite injuries. Though their record may not be as good as others, this is 1 of 4 teams in either conference that you really don't want to play.

Baltimore... This is a scrappy team with a few chips on their shoulders. They may be older, but they're still a very physical team who will bring it. Good in cold weather, motivated, and led by a decent QB, Baltimore was my pick at the beginning of the year so I'll stick with it.

New York Jets... Great coach, balanced team. The only soft spot is at QB which worries me. If it comes down to needing a play from Sanchez, I don't think the Jets will get it. Great running game and solid defense, the Jets are talented enough to make it to the Super Bowl.

New England... Great coach, great QB, experienced. There are a lot more reasons to have confidence in this team than not. This would be my pick had I not picked the Ravens in the beginning.

Sorry Chiefs, Colts, and Jags fans. None of these teams have what it takes to make it to the Super Bowl. Indy is just too depleted and lacks a strong defense. Manning can only do so much. Chiefs are too inexperienced and have a bi-polar QB. Same with Jags.

On to the NFC...

This is where it gets a little trickier. Only 3 teams are technically in, although New Orleans could wrap it up tonight with a win over Atlanta. Here are the teams that are in:

Atlanta

Philadelphia

Chicago

The teams on the bubble:

New Orleans

St. Louis
Seattle

New York Giants

Green Bay

Tampa Bay

St. Louis and Seattle will battle it out next week for the playoff team entering with the worst record, so 1 of them will be out. That leaves 2 spots for 4 teams. The giants have the best shot as they play the Redskins. The Bucs will play the Saints, leaving room for only 1 of them. If New Orleans wins tonight or next week, they'll be in. The Bears play the Packers at home, which will be tough for Green Bay. The most likely scenario is that St. Louis, New Orleans, and New York all get in. But how cool is this! When's the last time we had Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Seattle all fighting for a playoff spot?!

So out of the 6 playoff teams in the NFC, only 3 teams have shots at making it to the Super Bowl. Here we go:

Atlanta... A lot of Falcons fans are upset that Atlanta hasn't gotten more love from the media after a great year. This was the dark horse pick for a lot of people. And Falcons fans will see a lot more pub once the playoffs start. Good QB, balanced attack with Turner and Ryan, good defense. They made some strides last year in the playoffs, look for them to do the same this year.

Philadelphia... Great coach, great QB, talented offensive team. Vick is a wild card. The Eagles can only go as far as he can take them. He's matured a lot, we'll see if he's ready to take the next step and play well (hopefully for all 4 quarters, not just 1) in a playoff situation.

New York... The Giants may not even make the playoffs, but they have a good QB, a solid defense, and experience. Right now, I'm afraid to put them up here because they're sturggling. But to ignore them and say they can't make it just isn't accurate...they can be great when they want to.

Sorry Bears fans as well as Saints fans. St. Louis, Seattle, Tampa Bay, and Green Bay fans should all be able to admit to themselves that this year isn't their year. A rookie QB in St. Louis (referencing the Jets last year, their defense, coaching, and run game is nowhere near where New York was), Seattle and Tampa Bay have no anything, and Green Bay is playing with a limited QB as well as other injured players. The Saints don't have that edge that they did last year, but they are talented. Just not enough to make it again this year. And to my dear Bears fans... you have the #1 most overrated team in your city. Cutler is not the answer and has no positive playoff experience. Forte isn't used nearly as much as he should be, and the defense is good but not good enough to win a Super Bowl (see their last appearance) nor make it (unless they catch 98193793149 lucky breaks as they did the last time they ran deep in the playoffs). They spent their year beating up on the Lions (GREAT job there), an injury-ridden Packers team, and a Viking team who imploded about the 2nd week of the season. It's almost the NFC West, but not quite.

Prediction... Ravens/Vikings was my pick at the beginning of the year, but since the Vikings are out, I'm gonna go with Philly. I think Vick will continue to grow and pull off big plays with his arm in the playoffs, and they'll sneak out with a win against Atlanta to the disappointment of all Vick's former fans. However, the physical Ravens D will be too much for Philly to overcome. Baltimore wins 31-17.