OF ALL THINGS: TIME TO SPEAK UP, ZAC

 Sooner or later Zac Jones will have to unload on the New York Rangers for, in effect, putting his career on hold. The defenseman from Richmond (Glen Allen) has been a healthy scratch for 30 of the team’s 44 games … which is no way to treat any player, much less a 23 year old with unlimited potential ... The Broadway Blueshirts went 7-2-1 in November when Jones replaced injured Adam Fox. Since Dec. 15, he’s sat and watched for 15 of 16 games, his only appearance Jan. 13 when he got on the ice for a few shifts as the seventh defenseman ... With the NHL trade deadline March 8, the Rangers still have time to do the right thing.

And here we thought Tyler Burton left the University of 

Richmond for high-profile Villanova to better his NBA 

draftability. Wrong again! It was strictly a matter of money. 

Would you believe the 6-8 forward, who led the Spiders in 

scoring a year ago, will be paid $500,000 – all nice and legal – 

to play one season for the Big East Wildcats? We’re told the 

best UR could do was somewhere in the neighborhood of 

$100,000 to $150,000. Sounds crazy, I know, but it really is so …

Granted … Chris Mooney has been a perfect fit in some ways 

for UR … and yet … in 19 years as basketball coach, his 

teams have been to three NCAA tournaments … which is the 

measuring stick for most schools … and he makes more than 

$1 million a year? Only Richmond would have such patience, 

it says here.

Sports Illustrated fired its entire staff Friday (Jan. 19), leading 

to speculation the publication is out of business. You think?

The National Football League reportedly will have a major 

financial stake in ESPN, which has been looking for a partner 

to help stop the flow of red ink. Bad idea … for all the 

obvious reasons. To think it wasn’t that long ago the cable 

network was the Disney Corporation’s only moneymaker.

Critics of SI and ESPN are quick to tell you both are prime 

examples of: BECOME WOKE … AND GO BROKE. 

Readers/viewers already are bombarded by political liberalism 

without it ruining coverage of athletics, too. It is, after all, 

only sports.

In voting conducted by Awful Announcing.com, ESPN’s Jack 

Buck and Troy Aikman are the best NFL broadcast tandem 

for 2023. They edged defending champions Ian Eagle and

 Charles Davis of CBS. Who?

Surely Florida’s attorney general Ashley Moody can make 

better use of her taxpayer-funded time. But there she is, 

working overtime to prove unbeaten Florida State’s exclusion 

from college football’s final four was for underhanded reasons 

… With that in mind, Moody began an investigation into 

“possible contracts or conspiracies relating to anticompetitive 

effects …” and demanded all information and documentation 

related to the voting.

Meanwhile, in what has been described as “totally unrelated,” 

Florida State has gone to court in an attempt to leave the 

Atlantic Coast Conference as early as this summer … without 

having to pay a rather large exit fee said to be half-a-billion 

dollars … In return, the ACC filed a complaint against FSU 

… including an updated 191-page version Jan. 17.

Until next time ...

Quick stuff:

How in the world does Zac Jones keep from going off, loud and strong, about his treatment by the New York Rangers? The defenseman from Richmond (Glen Allen) has been a healthy scratch for 29 of the team’s 43 games … which is no way to treat a 22 year old who can’t be sent down without first clearing waivers … I know, I know, New York got off to a great start but, of late, has struggled, losing four in a row (5 of 6). 

Greg Olsen got it right … when he predicted the Dallas Cowboys would keep coach Mike McCarthy. The NFL-on-Fox analyst said you don’t fire someone who won 36 regular-season games in the first three years of a four-year contract. Unpredictable as ever ... owner Jerry Jones obviously agreed.

Former Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo keeps getting it wrong, critics will tell you. The NFL-on-CBS highest paid (by far) game analyst apparently has gotten lazy and doesn’t prepare for each assignment as thoroughly as he should.

ESPN, which has been looking for a high-profile partner to defray mounting operational costs, reportedly will team up with … the National Football League. Say it isn’t so ... The World Wide Leader (not) will take over running The NFL Network as part of the deal.