YEAH, BUT WHAT WS THE PAYOFF? FIRST THINGS FIRST
Strictly short stuff … promise ….
Come on, out with it … How much (money, that is) did
sophomore BRANDON JENNINGS get – legally, of
course – from VCU not to join former Rams coach
RYAN ODOM at Virginia? That should always be the
first question asked nowadays in this age of the transfer
portal and NIL.
If you’re wondering what a former Metro Player of the
Year, who averaged 2.7 points in 13.1 minutes off the
bench, is worth … how about $100,000 (says someone
who should know)?
By the way … whatever VCU paid MAX SHULGA to
stick around for his final season certainly was money well
spent. The point guard from the Ukraine, who followed
Odom here from Utah State, was the glue that held the A-
10-champion Rams together … after changing his mind
and deciding not to transfer to Villanova.
In case you missed it … Shulga had nine points and four
assists in the NABC all-star game as his East team won
100-91.
THE NEW YORK RANGERS are on life support …
trailing Montreal by four points for the playoffs final wild
card … with three games to go.
If coach PETER LAVIOLETTE isn’t dead in the water,
he should be according to a poll that drew 1,800
respondents of which 75 percent said he should be fired.
Asked whether free agent-to-be K’ANDRE MILLER
should get a new contract, 85 per cent of more than 4,000
votes received were negative. A big (6-5, 220) waste of
talent who clearly dislikes the game’s physicality, he will
always be remembered as the player who, instead of
dropping his gloves and fighting DREW DOUGHTY,
spit in the face of the LA defenseman.
Edgy JOHN TORTORELLA, fired by the Philadelphia
Flyers, is considered a possibility to replace Laviolette. It
would the second coming of Torts to the Rangers … and
one Big Apple columnist, who doesn’t like Tortorella (the
feeling is mutual), wrote a scathing piece why it would be
a bad idea. He listed several reasons … leaving out, of
course, the main one … that, during their previous
working relationship , Torts took great delight in mocking
the writer and did it often … to silent applause from
players and other reporters alike.
VIRGINIA FOOTBALL apparently got damaged goods
when it signed 6-7, 310-pound offensive lineman
MONROE MILLS out of the transfer portal … The
honorable-mention All-ACC for Louisville went down in
a non-contact drill and has undergone ACL surgery that
makes his only season in Hooville questionable, at best
… Rated the best of a good crop of newcomers, Mills sat
out his senior year in high school because of a damaged
knee ...He originally signed with Oklahoma State
(appearing in one game) before transferring to Texas Tech
then Louisville.
IN CASE YOU missed it II … the politicians are at it
again … which means – if it passes -- no good could
possibly come from House of Representative bill 2663 –
“Restore College Sports Act” – which would create the
American College Sports Association. In with the ACSA,
out with the NCAA … which, on second thought,
couldn’t be all bad.
The ACSA would oversee and regulate college athletics
… with a commissioner (appointed by the President
subject to approval of the Senate) serving a four-year
term … The bill also requires funds from NIL, school and
broadcast revenue as well as collectives to be shared
“equally among all student-athletes.” … In other words,
the end-of-the-bench player on the (minor sport of your
choice) will get the same as the starting QB on the
football team or … Duke’s Cooper Flagg?
While he was at it, H.R. 2663 sponsor Rep. MICHAEL
BAUMGARTNER (R—WA), 49, said athletes could
transfer at will without restrictions or penalty … In his
first term representing Washington state’s District 5,
Baumgartner founded the Congressional College Sports
Caucus. His only previous claim to athletic fame was a
close friendship with late football coach MIKE LEACH
… with whom he taught a class at alma mater
Washington State: “Leadership Lessons in Insurgent
Warfare and Football Strategy.”
Until next time ...
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