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1) Mizzou's athletes are back on campus and so far as we know everything is good. We told you last week there really wasn't going to be much information coming out. Missouri chose not to release the number of positive tests it had (if any). Players are working out, both in the weight room and out on the field doing some conditioning. I happened to see some of them doing their own work over at Rock Bridge's field over the weekend. So they're doing things. But as far as whether there's anyone not participating or anything like that, I don't really know.
2) Across the country, there are some places where players are having to sign risk acknowledgements before working out. I don't point this out to say there's anything wrong with it. It's probably smart. But it is interesting. College sports is in a tough place. It HAS to have football happen. It can't happen without some risks involved. The players don't get paid and can't exactly be forced to participate. But a BIG part of this (and whether fans can come back) is liability. No program wants to be the first one to have a kid get this and die and get sued for it (Save the "this doesn't impact 20 year olds...I agree it's unlikely a college football player dies from this. But it's not impossible. And as long as it's not impossible, there's some risk of liability if it does). So this protects the programs. You come here and lift in our facility, we're going to do everything we can to make sure this doesn't happen, but there's no way we can promise you it doesn't happen so by signing this you're telling us we aren't responsible if it does happen. I'm told Mizzou players signed something that acknowledged safety protocols and saying that they wouldn't come to the facility if they were feeling sick. I don't think waiver is the right word, but this sound more like something that said "I understand the process in place to minimize the risk to everyone involved." I think the same thing is going to happen with fans. Whether it's a waiver you have to sign when you receive tickets, whether it's printed with tickets, whatever, I won't be at all surprised to see any fan who wants to go to a game have to acknowledge something that says "I understand by going to the game I risk contracting COVID-19 and if I do I promise not to sue school X and hold them responsible."
3) The NCAA set the calendar recommendations for practice last week. For teams starting September 5, which is almost everyone, interaction with coaches (the equivalent of NFL OTA's) can begin on July 13 and fall camp can open on August 7. It would be my guess this is when Missouri will do those things. The calendar has to receive final approval from the NCAA Council on Wednesday, but it would be surprising if that didn't happen.
4) College athletes continue to make their voices heard. Athletes at Texas tweeted out a letter on Friday asking for the school to reconsider "The Eyes of Texas" as the school song and saying they wouldn't participate in recruiting events or alumni interaction until changes were made. Trevor Lawrence and his teammates led a rally at Clemson. I don't really want to get into whether you agree with what they're asking for or not. To me, that's not the major thing here. The major thing is that players have more power than they've ever had and they're going to use it. Texas can't host recruits if their players aren't going to be a part of it. Speaking of recruiting, video of cars driving with confederate flags protesting that rally made the rounds this weekend and that's not going to be a big help in recruiting black players. Neither is this video at Texas A&M
Again, I'm not here to tell anybody what they should think about the stances the athletes are taking or the stances some took against them. The newsworthy thing to me is that the athletes are talking. Nobody's telling them to be quiet. The coaches are not only allowing them to speak, but they're encouraging it. That's a good thing. A whole bunch of people pay attention to what these players do and say. I think the interesting part will be what happens if this is continuing during the season. It will be intriguing to see if the reaction and the attitudes to it change as time goes on...especially after a team loses a game.
5) Missouri appears to have been the leader in enacting meaningful change in this whole movement.
I had a few people tell me on Twitter that they don't get the day off work to vote so why should college athletes. Well, first of all, college athletes aren't paid. Second, maybe more people should get the day off to make sure they can vote. In the end, if we can make it easier for college kids to participate in the process, why wouldn't we do that? Good move by the NCAA here in my opinion. Voting is one of the fundamental rights/privileges/duties of citizens of this country. Most college kids probably don't do it. Good to see some taking the first step. The next step is actually voting.
6) Sports started to come back for me this weekend. In a normal summer, I probably wouldn't sit down and watch the Charles Schwab (aka Colonial) tournament. But I did this weekend. Watched Saturday and Sunday and squeezed in a nap (mid-golf tournament naps are among the best things there are) both days. It was weird after a big shot not hearing a roar or after any shot not even hearing the polite applause, but it didn't take a whole lot away from the event. I know some people who enjoy soccer or NASCAR have been watching live sports for a few weeks now, but this was the first live event I have watched in more than three months. It was good to get something back that wasn't made for TV and that I didn't know the result from going in.
7) Mizzou lost an all-timer this weekend. If you went to a game--especially a basketball game--it was impossible to miss Squeaky Marquardt. He didn't miss one. I don't really have a Squeaky story. I saw him plenty, but didn't really know him. I'll let some who did pay tribute to him:
8) Long Gone Summer aired last night on ESPN. I wasn't going to include this here, but I'm going to be honest, it's hard as hell to find ten thoughts about sports right now so I am. If it had been advertised as a nostalgic look back at the summer that brought baseball back, I might have liked it more. If it had been advertised as a Mark McGwire story with a note or two about Sammy Sosa, I might have enjoyed it more. Because it was part of 30 for 30 and it followed up The Last Dance and Lance, I just expected more. I'm one of those that thinks McGwire and Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens should be in the Hall of Fame (not Sosa...he wasn't a great player for most of his career). I always ask, how many home runs did those guys hit off of pitchers that were using PEDs? I'm not anti-everyone who ever used steroids in baseball at all. But to tell the story of that summer and to not even mention steroids until the last 15 minutes--and then to link it to Bonds the first time you do--just seemed like whistling past the graveyard. I mean, it's part of the story. A big part. Even the questions asked about it of McGwire and Sosa seemed like they were phrased to give them an avenue not to answer it. It was basically a 1998 home run highlight reel. I'm sure Cardinals fans enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Cubs fans probably did too. It just wasn't what I expected.
9) Maybe it's time to make steroids legal again in baseball. They better do something. Because they're killing the interest of most fans. Baseball should have been the first major league to return. At this point, they might have a 50 game season that nobody will care about. Baseball's ability to do the wrong thing almost every time it has a choice is remarkable.
10) This week's reading recommendations:
The Confederate flag is finally gone at NASCAR races and I won't miss it for a second
On death and dying and a long text exchange
The power of crowds
Stein & Summers is a rock solid real estate firm with over 46 years of success that can be attributed to our willingness to go the extra mile in service and expertise. With offices in Kansas City and St. Joseph, we provide a full range of services in residential, commercial, multi-family, investment and agricultural real estate. Confidence comes from feeling you’ve been taken care of, so when you see our sign you can rest assured that one of our agents will be ready to provide the best care for any of your real estate needs. Click here for more information.
1) Mizzou's athletes are back on campus and so far as we know everything is good. We told you last week there really wasn't going to be much information coming out. Missouri chose not to release the number of positive tests it had (if any). Players are working out, both in the weight room and out on the field doing some conditioning. I happened to see some of them doing their own work over at Rock Bridge's field over the weekend. So they're doing things. But as far as whether there's anyone not participating or anything like that, I don't really know.
2) Across the country, there are some places where players are having to sign risk acknowledgements before working out. I don't point this out to say there's anything wrong with it. It's probably smart. But it is interesting. College sports is in a tough place. It HAS to have football happen. It can't happen without some risks involved. The players don't get paid and can't exactly be forced to participate. But a BIG part of this (and whether fans can come back) is liability. No program wants to be the first one to have a kid get this and die and get sued for it (Save the "this doesn't impact 20 year olds...I agree it's unlikely a college football player dies from this. But it's not impossible. And as long as it's not impossible, there's some risk of liability if it does). So this protects the programs. You come here and lift in our facility, we're going to do everything we can to make sure this doesn't happen, but there's no way we can promise you it doesn't happen so by signing this you're telling us we aren't responsible if it does happen. I'm told Mizzou players signed something that acknowledged safety protocols and saying that they wouldn't come to the facility if they were feeling sick. I don't think waiver is the right word, but this sound more like something that said "I understand the process in place to minimize the risk to everyone involved." I think the same thing is going to happen with fans. Whether it's a waiver you have to sign when you receive tickets, whether it's printed with tickets, whatever, I won't be at all surprised to see any fan who wants to go to a game have to acknowledge something that says "I understand by going to the game I risk contracting COVID-19 and if I do I promise not to sue school X and hold them responsible."
3) The NCAA set the calendar recommendations for practice last week. For teams starting September 5, which is almost everyone, interaction with coaches (the equivalent of NFL OTA's) can begin on July 13 and fall camp can open on August 7. It would be my guess this is when Missouri will do those things. The calendar has to receive final approval from the NCAA Council on Wednesday, but it would be surprising if that didn't happen.
4) College athletes continue to make their voices heard. Athletes at Texas tweeted out a letter on Friday asking for the school to reconsider "The Eyes of Texas" as the school song and saying they wouldn't participate in recruiting events or alumni interaction until changes were made. Trevor Lawrence and his teammates led a rally at Clemson. I don't really want to get into whether you agree with what they're asking for or not. To me, that's not the major thing here. The major thing is that players have more power than they've ever had and they're going to use it. Texas can't host recruits if their players aren't going to be a part of it. Speaking of recruiting, video of cars driving with confederate flags protesting that rally made the rounds this weekend and that's not going to be a big help in recruiting black players. Neither is this video at Texas A&M
Again, I'm not here to tell anybody what they should think about the stances the athletes are taking or the stances some took against them. The newsworthy thing to me is that the athletes are talking. Nobody's telling them to be quiet. The coaches are not only allowing them to speak, but they're encouraging it. That's a good thing. A whole bunch of people pay attention to what these players do and say. I think the interesting part will be what happens if this is continuing during the season. It will be intriguing to see if the reaction and the attitudes to it change as time goes on...especially after a team loses a game.
5) Missouri appears to have been the leader in enacting meaningful change in this whole movement.
I had a few people tell me on Twitter that they don't get the day off work to vote so why should college athletes. Well, first of all, college athletes aren't paid. Second, maybe more people should get the day off to make sure they can vote. In the end, if we can make it easier for college kids to participate in the process, why wouldn't we do that? Good move by the NCAA here in my opinion. Voting is one of the fundamental rights/privileges/duties of citizens of this country. Most college kids probably don't do it. Good to see some taking the first step. The next step is actually voting.
6) Sports started to come back for me this weekend. In a normal summer, I probably wouldn't sit down and watch the Charles Schwab (aka Colonial) tournament. But I did this weekend. Watched Saturday and Sunday and squeezed in a nap (mid-golf tournament naps are among the best things there are) both days. It was weird after a big shot not hearing a roar or after any shot not even hearing the polite applause, but it didn't take a whole lot away from the event. I know some people who enjoy soccer or NASCAR have been watching live sports for a few weeks now, but this was the first live event I have watched in more than three months. It was good to get something back that wasn't made for TV and that I didn't know the result from going in.
7) Mizzou lost an all-timer this weekend. If you went to a game--especially a basketball game--it was impossible to miss Squeaky Marquardt. He didn't miss one. I don't really have a Squeaky story. I saw him plenty, but didn't really know him. I'll let some who did pay tribute to him:
8) Long Gone Summer aired last night on ESPN. I wasn't going to include this here, but I'm going to be honest, it's hard as hell to find ten thoughts about sports right now so I am. If it had been advertised as a nostalgic look back at the summer that brought baseball back, I might have liked it more. If it had been advertised as a Mark McGwire story with a note or two about Sammy Sosa, I might have enjoyed it more. Because it was part of 30 for 30 and it followed up The Last Dance and Lance, I just expected more. I'm one of those that thinks McGwire and Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens should be in the Hall of Fame (not Sosa...he wasn't a great player for most of his career). I always ask, how many home runs did those guys hit off of pitchers that were using PEDs? I'm not anti-everyone who ever used steroids in baseball at all. But to tell the story of that summer and to not even mention steroids until the last 15 minutes--and then to link it to Bonds the first time you do--just seemed like whistling past the graveyard. I mean, it's part of the story. A big part. Even the questions asked about it of McGwire and Sosa seemed like they were phrased to give them an avenue not to answer it. It was basically a 1998 home run highlight reel. I'm sure Cardinals fans enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Cubs fans probably did too. It just wasn't what I expected.
9) Maybe it's time to make steroids legal again in baseball. They better do something. Because they're killing the interest of most fans. Baseball should have been the first major league to return. At this point, they might have a 50 game season that nobody will care about. Baseball's ability to do the wrong thing almost every time it has a choice is remarkable.
10) This week's reading recommendations:
The Confederate flag is finally gone at NASCAR races and I won't miss it for a second
On death and dying and a long text exchange
The power of crowds
