Ellis Shoe

Well, Boxter, you have figured out the NIL problem. From an enrollment standpoint have more alumni and supporters and likely more money to buy or retain players. There are a few trying to break out of that paradigm (Memphis/ FedEx - at least until the runoff to UPS, DSL and even the US Postal Service is accounted for). I like the idea of getting rid of pretenders but this generation is entitled and addicted to consolation trophies - so it could happen.

“In 2024 other than the games vs A+M and USC, and Louisville and FSU at home, ND plays Northern Illinois, Purdue, Miami Ohio, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Virginia, and Army. Disgraceful.” He’s right, you know. That is NOT an SEC schedule. At some point, the special treatment for ND has to end.

It seems that the principal objection has to do with having to endure the same lame commercial on an endless loop. But, that is where the Big Money comes from. Maybe, just maybe, if Dr. Pepper got the Bud Light treatment we might see some improvement.

If one wanted to do a serious study on the effects of NIL on team cohesiveness, the best lab in the country is in Austin TX.

You aren’t expecting your Missouri fake tigers to make the playoffs are you Lefty? Not happening. Not this year. Not ever.

Ha! TruVol is Bayou Buford who is really Negan. Too much time on his hands.

The Blue meltdown may be a bit premature. Coaching ability and recruiting matters but in this new world the real question is whether Pope will have enough NIL money to buy the players that he will need. I suspect that the coaches that turned Kentucky down were more comfortable where they were.

“Did you forget where you are . . . “ No, he didn’t forget where he is. It was just nice, from an LSU fan point to have something to talk about instead of basketball. We are a year or so from knowing whether Mc Mahon can recruit a team that would be fun to watch - and baseball isn’t helping either.

Just another example of a “solution” being worse than the problem. Never happen.

There is really no solution. As soon as there is something that is agreed on, whatever it is will fail because traditional cheating will resume. If anyone has a clue about labor law you will already know what real headaches that brings. It is one thing to manage relations with an adult workforce and an entirely different thing to engage in collective bargaining with teenagers and their assorted agents, handlers, parents, etc.

Do not disagree but on that criteria there are a whole lot of “scumbags” coaching college basketball. Wade was not out there slone.

He, as every other coach, will only be as good as his players are and like everywhere else, every one of them is for sale.

Oh Rolltide. When play starts in the fall you can always watch the Bama reruns that you seem obsessed with. Getting through the season with fewer than 4 losses would be big. And, yes, while I bleed purple and gold, I’m also a fan of Georgia and every other team except the fighting, cheating Tide.

Remember that Kirby learned the ropes from Saban, the G. O. A. T of crying and whining. Kirby seems to have that problem under control. Saban does not. Just tune into Saban’s crying and whining when he appears before Congress.

Sorry that a comment about Bama Delusion Syndrome so upset you. Maybe if you stop the continual polishing of your. 6” Genuine Aluminum Crooked A belt buckle and took a nap you will feel better. Bama Delusion Syndrome is a terrible thing. Maybe your problem is overdosing with Gatorade . The Gators are not your friends. Nobody is.

Isn’t it odd that an article positing that high school seniors will, en masse, will forego their respective senior season, highly, highly speculative though it may be morphs into another Tide/Dawg back and forth? Well, Tide fans, your team has a lot to prove and the Dawgs, little. Saban would still be coaching your team until he was mummified had he not recognized the handwriting on the wall and concluded that his protected recruiting advantage had evaporated. Georgia remains the presumptive target for all others with Championship aspirations. DeBoer should be a good coach so we will see. Freese has about the same challenge but betting on the outcome of the Iron Bowl, especially when Championship progress is on the line is an iffy gamble. There are several teams in the league also aspiring to put your team in its proper place. So when games are played on the field, will Bama still get a lot of critical play help from the Zebras to win? Kirby will have the players he needs as will Kiffen, Freese and Kelly . . . and maybe Missouri as well.

Oh, USCe is such a sports behemoth. Everyone else should forfeit all games involving the chickens in all sports. Waste of time playing them because they always win every thing.

“Staley” and “class” do not belong in the same sentence - and this is not a defense of how Mulkey handled things. Or, the referees who let things get out of control.

He’s right, you know.

LSU hasn’t had a team ready to play an opening game for at least three years. Last year the TV guys were expressing gratitude to the coaches for letting them have an open mike in the pre-game activities. Kelly was then shiwn talking to someone on the sidelines and saying somethink like “That is reallyvhostile crowd ( referring to the bazillion Fla St. fans in the stands. I sure hope our guys are ready to play”. He looked like he was sweating hard (probably the camera lighting) but the Tigers weren’t ready once again. We scheduled openers with tough opponents fotr “exposure”. We got that regrettably. Hopefully this year will be differenr.

Future scheduling is the biggest headache to deal with. One of the un intended consequences of any further expansion is it inevitably increases the likelihood that some teams may wind up playing each other more than once a season. That is rarely good for the winner of the first game. And no, expanding won’t stop the whining by the left-outs. They will still complain about being left out of whatever number of slots existed. Personally, I don’t believe that lower level teams that play lower level schedules belong on a playoff but a few may be in big TV market areas. I am not a fan of McElroy (or anyone else connected to the Crooked A’s) but this time he is right. Leave well-enough alone until we know how the 12 team format works out - or doesn’t. Hopefully, TV revenue wont force a bunch of junk games on the fans.

Nabers is a special guy. I have lost count of the times last season when he made jaw dropping contested catches and I was thinking “How did he do that”. And, Harrison can go first. I just want to see Malik drafted by a team with a good quarterback.

Napier was always overrated and thankfully LSU took a pass on him. But, Napier will be in the Buyout Hall of Fame along with ZerOgeron. Fishy has the top spot locked down. And, they all said together “KA-CHING!!!!

They learn to do that rabid Bama stuff and get their own 6” genuine aluminum Crooked A belt buckle in the first grade. After that they cannot help themselves.

One of my favorite players who isn’t an LSU Tiger. He is fun to watch and is a “clutch” player. I hope he gets drafted by a team with a pulse.

It seems like both winter and bad ideas won’t stop. If you haven’t noticed entitlement is more contagious than the current virus version. No, just no to thst.

Wow! You weren’t thinking when you tapped the “Publish Comment” button and injected a rational thought into this conversation were you?

Some elevated concern had to have prompted this and floated it out. Among the many possibilities are a possible TV concern is that unqualified teams do play in big TV markets and eyeballs drive advertising dollars or maybe somebody thinks leaving out undeserving lower division teams have too many legislative risks should Congress ever decide it morally has to level the playing field and assure that lower division teams get tonmake some money. It could be that the SEC and Big10 figured out that they have to guarantee spots and seeding so they are never having to play any lower division teams and then have their best players opting out (on the advice of their handlers) or negotiate even more NIL (or whatever that morphs into) on a pay-for-play-per-game basis. Or, it could be that some of the gaming companies became worried that setting odds to even up betting would become more difficult if the best teams had to start the playoffs against an undeserving lower conference team. The “why” is yet to be determined. But, in the end, the SEC and Big10 will make the decision. It is either that or, here comes the new Continental Conference - SEC, BIG10 and whatever other teams that TV money makes them take.

And, the logical next step if the NCAA decides to fight this to the death and eventually loses or quits it should be perfectly legal to take money from gambling interests to play to that tune. Hope you Vol fans are happy. It wont last long

Whoa Vol fans. You only have a preliminary injunction against a already castrated NCAA and are still in the SEC not headquartered in TN but in Crimson Tide land. For you to prevail, Judge Corker would have to put the NCAA completely out of business and have to believe that college football will survive where only a few rich teams win. The judge is a Trump appointee ( a good thing) and, right now TV money is on the phone to Trump’s campaign. And, it isn’t a good thing to be the Tide’s most hated team. You are looking straight into a can of worms. Should you win, you will only get the opportunity to compete with teams with a whole lot more money than your hillbilly boosters can ever come up with.