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 ...