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sighyoung wrote:In many of the lesser sports, I think most really are student athletes. I've taught soccer, volleyball, baseball, swimming, and track athletes, and even cheerleaders, and all were really smart and dedicated. But I've never taught a basketball in 19 years at the university, and only two football players--both redshirt freshmen who would have done well in any class. It's like they quarantine the rest.

That's because they do. My friend works in the Student Athlete Academic Support office and his only sport is football. With few exceptions, he does every player's schedule and knows what classes are "friendly" to the program.

Sigh's a player

sighyoung wrote:But I've never taught a basketball in 19 years at the university

Some of the bigger czars in CBB like Pitino are notorious for mapping out their players curriculum to be as easy as possible, so I suppose you should take it as a compliment that your classes have high standards. Coach K got in trouble a while back for not letting his players pick their own majors.

TimeForGuinness wrote:

Freed Roger wrote:

TimeForGuinness wrote:I don't know what's more depressing: that Te'o fell for a hoax, that Te'o lied to boost his stock, that people fell for Te'o, or that people are upset about the Te'o fallout.

I still don't know why people are getting so emotionally involved in this whole thing.

+

I'm kind of happy to see the sports media get duped. This saga exposes it for the generally reactionary-oversaturating-hyping-crapola machine that it is. Hooray fake girlfriend!

TBH, I don't think I knew of Manti Te'o grandma/GF dying and brother losing his leg in a tragic bass fishing accident, until after this whole fake girlfriend thing came to light. I rarely listen to sports commentators anymore -I'm either DVRing and using fastforward with sports, watching them in bars, and/or have the sound down. ESPN is almost never on in our house.

Good Lord, I thought I was the only one.

The only thing I hear, it seems, is, "...BUT, BUT...HE LIED!!!...AND NOTRE DAME SUCKS!!!...I'M GOING TO TWEET THAT TO KATHERINE WEBB!!!LOL"

Christ, an athlete lied...OH NOES!!! My unshakable faith in athlete integrity has been shook...somebody hold me.

I think the story says as much about sports "reporting" and illustrates just how much media outlets are in bed with these players/programs/conferences and what they will do to promote them in a positive light. To me, that's a hook for a sports fan to find interest in the story.

I think I'm more or less in agreement with this:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-footba ... -armstrong

Yeah I really don't get all the hype over this. It's a little ridiculous.

ghostrunner wrote:I think I'm more or less in agreement with this:

http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-footba ... -armstrong

That's pretty much where I'm at, as well.

ESPN continues to demonstrate that they are nothing more than whores and a propaganda machine for athletes they want access to. They don't report stories they can't "independently verify" (Rothlesberger sexual assault, Favre sexting) until it becomes too big a story that they have to reluctantly report it. But, they will run with a "spreadsheet" of phone records they can't "independently verify" that may support Te'o and his lies. Why? Because they want access to these athletes so they ignore certain stories, but run with others. It's the same reason they didn't report the story when they learned of it as they were negotiating an interview. It is shameful, and in my opinion is becoming a bigger story than the Te'o lies. The majority of people get their sports "news" from this network, and it is insulting to those of us who follow sports. ESPN is the reason that I enjoy sports less and less. I don't watch the network, but one cannot follow sports without having some intersection them. And, I hate that.

http://deadspin.com/5978410/espn-has-ma ... ne-records

JL21 wrote:

sighyoung wrote:I've never taught a basketball in 19 years at the university

This sounds like the premise of a 1960s Disney movie starring Don Knotts as the professor and Jerry Lewis as Spalding the Basketball.

That's about the Tommy Kirk and Kurt Russell era, so surely they could be cast.



With Joe Flynn as the president of the university.



Burt Mustin as the lovable old coot.



Charles Nelson Reilly as the nervous equipment manager.

stlouie_lipp wrote:ESPN continues to demonstrate that they are nothing more than whores and a propaganda machine for athletes they want access to ... ESPN is the reason that I enjoy sports less and less. I don't watch the network, but one cannot follow sports without having some intersection them. And, I hate that.

exactly.

Once upon a time I used to envy the life of a sportswriter or reporter. Now I pity them,