In other news, the NCAA (court) trials are still making headlines. It looks like the NCAA’s chances took a huge blow when Jim Delany took the stand and pretty much ran wild with his ideas and backed up the plaintiff’s case. Right now the NCAA is just getting hammered with so many witnesses against them.
Both this week and next, the NCAA will have time to save face, but I feel it is way too late. The NCAA was doomed as soon as this case ended up in court. I just know it will change college athletics for the worse and may even destroy some of the schools in the process. Can I say it again? WHAT A MESS!!!!
Being a Gator fan, I heard some horrible news this week — Jameis Winston’s dad told the local newspapers that his son plans to stay and finish his degree. This means the FSU fans get to enjoy Winston and his football skills a little while longer instead of him bolting to the NFL at the end of this season.
Good move? Hmmm … not! I’d say good ol’ Winston is one public shopping trip away from the hoosegow. I mean Winston has been making headlines since he got to FSU, but for all the wrong reasons. He needs to enjoy this final season and get the heck out of town. Go online and finish your degree during the off seasons. If he sticks around for his entire college career, trouble will surely hunt him down and find him.
Let me drop one last thought — If FSU was, say, 6-6 last year and Winston was just your average QB, then all of the “issues” that came his way, probably would have gotten him kicked off the team and actually thrown in jail. It’s amazing what winning can do for a person.
Eastern Michigan figured they will never make the headlines for actual football news since they went 12-48 in the last five years. So to make headlines, things will get a little “grayer” for the Eagles — this season Eastern Michigan will be installing Gray Turf in the hopes of spicing things up a little bit and raise some fan interest. Yes, it worked for Boise State, but will it work for Eastern Michigan? I doubt it. They are less than 14 minutes away from the University of Michigan and I doubt they will ever get a fan base due to the their Big Brother and his Big House just down the road hogging up all the attention. Hey Duck fans — notice anything similar about Eastern Michigan’s uniforms?
So, we both know it is the off season and is its slowest part when your main story on ESPN is Northwestern is going to have “peanut free” games to help those fans with allergies to peanuts. I guess it was such a big deal it made headlines, and ESPN turned it into a story. Oh, the dreaded off-season.
As football season approaches and with kickoff less than 70 days away, I will start going over some of the key match ups we get to see in the first few weeks of the season along with some playoff thoughts. By the way, The Golden Nugget has Oregon favored in all of their conference games, along with being a team to reach the playoffs. They have Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Florida State for their top four teams. Good four, but I don’t think you can count out Ohio State, LSU or Auburn to make a run for the spot Alabama currently holds. It’s going to be an interesting season coming up with the playoffs and possibly massive changes to the amateur status of the college athlete.
NATIONAL NEWS:
1. Penn State AD retiring
2. Notre Dame player arrested
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Jeff Hostetler may not have won a Super Bowl with the Giants ( though his uncle of the same name did). He has been an obsessed college football fan living in Florida ever since the Gators beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl to earn the UF’s first national championship.
Ever since Jeff has immersed himself in everything possible related to college football. He enjoys watching, writing, playing, and otherwise obsessing over all things football. A graduate of the University of Florida, he brings a perspective to FishDuck free of our extreme green & yellow homerism glasses to look at the current landscape of collegiate athletics.