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1. So, now the NCAA wants to do something about NIL?
That's fitting, I suppose, for an organization that sticks its head in the sand and only acts in reactionary fashion.
“This is the time we have to put our stake in the ground. Enough! This is not acceptable,” frustrated Colorado athletic director Rick George told Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger. “What we’re doing is not good for intercollegiate athletics, and it has got to stop.”
The NCAA is now working on guidelines for NIL, guidance that clarifies existing NCAA bylaws that prohibit boosters from being involved in recruiting. Any booster or booster-led collective that has been found to have associated with prospects about recruiting—on another college team or in high school—will be found to have violated NCAA rules and put the booster’s school at risk of sanctions, George says. In addition, a booster, or booster-run collectives, “cannot communicate with a student-athlete or others affiliated with a student-athlete to encourage them to remain enrolled or attend an institution.”
“Just because we have NIL, it doesn’t eliminate the rules,” George says. “Everybody is like, ‘It’s NIL!’ I am totally in favor of NIL done right. It’s really good. [Athletes] should be able to monetize their NIL, but a lot of what’s going on out there is not NIL.”
Dellenger's Sports Illustrated colleague, Pat Forde, tweeted late last week that he had received a text from someone in the NCAA compliance space, on enforcing the collective/recruiting/tampering landscape.
“The student athletes that were getting these alleged offers from these collectives will probably be getting phone calls from enforcement to have a sitdown," Forde tweeted, adding in a subsequent tweet that those players' "eligibility wouldn’t be impacted but they’ll be asked to spill the beans and would be mandated to cooperate.”
That's all well and good, but the genie is out of the bottle. The toothpaste is out of the tube. It's not stopping and no amount of "sit-downs" are going to change that.
“You can compete with these SEC schools and now we are on par with them,” former USC quarterback Mark Sanchez said on The Herd with Collin Cowherd show last week, discussing the Trojans' sudden resurgence under new coach Lincoln Riley, with NIL playing a huge role. “All these collectives created so that everybody gets a little piece of the action—I don’t know where this ever stops. These bidding wars … It’s the wild, wild west right now. But USC is dishing out some cash and figuring it out.”
The NCAA had a decade or more to know this was coming. It was inevitable. It did nothing. There's no going back now. Sure, the markets will settle, but what has happened and what is coming is almost certainly revolutionary change. What's amazing is everyone associated with it knew what would happen once the floodgates opened -- except, apparently, for the people paid to watch those very gates.
2. I'm not necessarily condoning gambling here, but if you're looking for a few bargains ahead of the coming football season, there might be a couple here.
Ole Miss' schedule is set up for success. It just is. If the Rebels' schedule were front-loaded, I'd tell you that you were wasting your money betting on Ole Miss to win the SEC West. However, Ole Miss could get win its first four SEC games all while working out some kinks at quarterback and wide receiver and linebacker.
I'm not saying Ole Miss is definitely going to beat Kentucky, Auburn, Vanderbilt and LSU, but all of those games are extremely winnable. If that were to happen, the Rebels get Alabama at home in early November, so even a loss at College Station wouldn't kill their title hopes. At Arkansas is a difficult task and Mississippi State at home will be tough as well, but both games are winnable. So 16:1 odds are a solid gamble.
It's less of a good bet, but Arkansas at 18:1 would be worth a $10 flyer, in my opinion. The Hogs get Alabama at home as well as LSU and Ole Miss. The road trips -- Mississippi State, Auburn and Missouri -- are nowhere close to the road slate a year ago, which saw the Razorbacks have to play in Oxford, Athens and Tuscaloosa.
Auburn must play Georgia and Alabama and travel to Ole Miss. Not happening. Texas A&M is just 6:1, and frankly, I like both Ole Miss and Arkansas' chances better.
3. In the SEC East, I love the value of Kentucky at 16:1 to win the division.
If the Wildcats win at Ole Miss, they have a real shot at being 4-0 when they head to Knoxville on Oct. 29. After games with Missouri and Vanderbilt, Kentucky gets Georgia at home in November. Is it likely the Wildcats win the East? No. Is there a potential for real returns there? Yes.
Tennessee is going to be a good team, but the schedule isn't favorable. Florida doesn't have the goods to win the East, and the other bets are silly. Some will jump on South Carolina at 60:1, and they'll be fun to watch, but there's no chance they win the division.
4. Caesar's Sportsbook has put out odds on winning the SEC title. Again, there are bargains.
Alabama is minus-140. Georgia is +110. Texas A&M is +1600, not a terrible bet, I suppose.
The bargains start with Ole Miss at +2000. LSU, Kentucky and Auburn are all +4000, so you know I love the Kentucky bet there for the value.
Arkansas is +5000. Again, if you're looking for value, there it is. That's worth a $10 flyer. Tennessee is +7500. The rest are a waste of time.
If all of this has made you eager for football, here are some Week 1 betting lines of note involving SEC teams, per Caesar's Sportsbook:
Alabama (-31) vs. Utah State
Arkansas (-8) vs. Cincinnati
Florida vs. Utah PICK 'EM
Georgia (-15) vs. Oregon *in Atlanta
Mississippi State (-11) vs. Memphis
LSU (-3.5) vs. Florida State *in New Orleans
5. It was the first inning Friday night and Dylan DeLucia -- and Ole Miss, by proxy -- was in trouble.
Ole Miss trailed Missouri, 2-0, and the Tigers had the bases loaded with a full count at the plate. To make matters worse, DeLucia had already thrown 51 pitches.
Disaster, it seemed, loomed.
DeLucia got a break a bit, as the 3-2 fastball might have been off the plate a bit. Ole Miss was due a break, of course.
After that moment, the Rebels dominated the rest of the weekend. Ole Miss swept Missouri, improving to 10-14 in the SEC heading into the final two weekends of the season.
No, Missouri isn't good. The Tigers are now 7-17 in league play. Still, Ole Miss' job was to win the series and the Rebels did that -- and then some.
Ole Miss dramatically improved its chances of getting to the SEC Tournament later this month in Hoover, Ala. The Rebels likely need four wins over these next two series against LSU and Texas A&M. Three wins might do it.
No, the overall narrative around the program hasn't changed. Ole Miss likely has to make and win a regional to change much, but the Rebels, by taking care of Missouri, put themselves in position to at least have a chance.
It's cliche, but it's one game at a time at this point. Every game is the biggest one. Every win is huge. Every loss dramatically reduces margin for error.
Early Friday, it looked like Ole Miss was going to careen off the wall and go straight off the mountain. Instead, the Rebels settled themselves and lived to fight another day.
6. It's once again time for my weekly ranking of SEC baseball teams.
1. Tennessee -- The Vols finally lost a series. Reminder: the best regular-season team doesn't always win the whole thing.
2. Arkansas -- The Razorbacks needed two on the Plains and got them.
3. LSU -- The Tigers are starting to play with that familiar swagger.
4. Texas A&M -- The Aggies are getting every ounce of production out of their talent.
5. Auburn -- The Tigers will likely look back on Friday somewhat ruefully. They had Arkansas in trouble but couldn't hold on.
6. Georgia -- The Bulldogs are 13-11 and have the pitching to make noise.
7. Vanderbilt -- Through 24 league games, the 'Dores are a .500 team. I keep waiting for a breakout performance, but they're running out of time.
8. Florida -- The Gators got a huge sweep in Starkville to renew some hope for a postseason bid.
9. Ole Miss -- Like Florida, the Rebels got a sweep to kindle some hope for a postseason opportunity.
10. South Carolina -- The Gamecocks got a win Sunday to cool Texas A&M and keep hope alive, albeit barely.
11. Alabama -- The Tide is fading fast. That could be an interesting job opening. Just saying.
12. Kentucky -- The Wildcats took two of three from Tennessee, but there are rumblings of imminent change in Lexington as well. Could be interesting. Just saying, Part II.
13. Mississippi State -- It is clearly no longer 2021 in Starkville.
14. Missouri -- The end is near at least.
7. The NBA Playoffs always deliver drama, and this season is no exception.
The Grizzlies-Warriors series has been contentious from the jump, full of ejections and verbal barbs. On Saturday night, however, all of the physical play may have shaped the direction of the series.
Memphis' Ja Morant limped off the court during the Grizzlies' Game 3 loss. He was being evaluated after the game, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said.
"It looked like Jordan Poole grabbed his knee and yanked it," Jenkins said, later clarifying that he wasn't necessarily accusing Poole of purposefully trying to hurt Morant. "I said there was a grab. I'm just curious what happened."
The Warriors, make no mistake, are a borderline dirty team. They always have been. They'll make you forget about it with their offense and their synergy, but they have no problem getting nasty. And they are great at getting in other teams' collective heads.
Late Saturday, while Memphis was making and then deleting tweets, the Warriors were just calling the play "a basketball play."
"We're not out here trying to hurt people or club people in the back of the head on a fast break," Golden State's Klay Thompson said, apparently referencing the Game 2 ejection of Memphis' Dillon Brooks for just that. "We play the game the right way."
Game 4 is Monday night, and it's likely the Grizzlies' season hopes hang in the balance.
In Milwaukee, meanwhile, Boston's Jayson Tatum was having to take a long look in the mirror after a Game 3 loss to the Bucks, one in which he didn't play like an all-star while his Milwaukee counterpart, Giannis Antetokounmpo, delivered in every conceivable way.
“I’m not going to make it about me or anything like that,” Tatum said. “I’ve gotta be better. I know that. My teammates know that. And I’m sure I will be.”
The Bucks lead, 2-1, and can take a stranglehold in Game 4 Monday night.
“Today was just a one-off where I probably was thinking a little bit too much knowing that they give me a lot of attention,” Tatum said Saturday. “Obviously, I passed up some open looks that I should have — that would have been best for the team. It led to some turnovers and things like that. But it all comes down to I just got to make better reads and a lot of times it was for myself today that I passed up.”
Tatum finished Game 3 with 10 points on 4-for-19 shooting, the second-worst field goal percentage of his playoff career. Even after that, he seemed at least as bothered by the shots he didn’t take.
“Couple shots I should have took,” Tatum said. “I guess being a little hesitant, passing, just trying to make plays for the guys. I just got to be better in that aspect of just making the right play and reading it better.”
Dallas, meanwhile, held serve at home to even its series with Phoenix at 2-2. When the Mavericks bring more to the table than just Luka Doncic, they're dangerous. At some point, Dallas has to steal one in the desert.
8. I can't remember the last time I watched a horse race and was so stunned at the outcome as I was Saturday in the closing seconds of the Kentucky Derby.
Rich Strike was 80:1 to win the Kentucky Derby and he sprinted damn near out of nowhere to win. How big was the upset? In betting terms, it was like the USA winning the World Cup or the Miami Marlins winning the World Series this fall.
He became the second-longest shot to win in Derby history, per the NBC broadcast. Eric Reed’s horse pulled off the win against some of the other favorites like Epicenter, who entered the race with the best odds and finished second on Saturday.
As Forde wrote so eloquently from Churchill Downs on Saturday, Rich Strike left a handful of his backers roaring and weeping with joy as they stood on the track—“We shocked the world, people!” said one member of the entourage. He left his trainer, Eric Reed, on the ground in the paddock, collapsing after watching this miracle play out on the big screen—“I passed out,” he said. “I don’t remember what happened.” He left his owner, Rick Dawson, who estimates he has won “about 10” races in his life, in a complete state of shock—“Um, what planet is this?” he asked, in a giddy daze.
Again quoting Forde, before Saturday's win, Rich Strike had won exactly one race in his life. He hadn’t even finished second in his previous five starts, coming in third three times, fourth once and fifth once.
Down the stretch, it appeared Epicenter and Zandon were going to give us an epic finish. Rich Strike didn't even appear on my screen until the final seconds. And he bolted to the lead like a, pardon the pun, lightning strike.
“I’m going to pass out, I’m so happy,” Reed told the New York Times, trying to wipe the astonishment from his face. “This is the reason everybody does this. This is the most unbelievable day ever possible.
"I didn’t think I could win, necessarily, but I knew if he got it, they’d know who he was when the race was over.”
9. It's time to eat. Here’s our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 134 — Roasted Rutabaga Soup.
Well, hello vegetables. This is a great alternative to potato soup because of its sweet-savory characteristic that helps define this veggie.
Tidbit #1: The veggie is slightly bitter so it is best to offset it with vinegar. Slice it up, put it in the oven until soft, and then finish with a splash of apple cider vinegar and salt.
Tidbit #2: Roasting it with salt and butter also adds to its’ flavor by enhancing it with the sugars inside its caramelizing.
Tidbit #3: For any soup, it is all about building flavors. Onions, carrots, apples, pears, butter, milk, and cream cheese are all good pairings.
Things you will need:
4 People
Preparation time - 10 Minutes
Cook time - 45 Minutes
Sparkling White
Utensils needed:
Worksurface and chef’s knife
Stovetop and oven
Baking tray
Measuring Cups
Saucepot
Emulsion Blender
Ingredients needed:
1 pound rutabagas
3 Small yellow onions, sliced
1 Carrot, Sliced
4 cups chicken stock
1 Lemon
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
Sea salt
4 Tbsp butter
2 Tsp dried thyme
Mise en Plac
Step 1: Quarter up your rutabagas and place them on the baking sheet with your sliced onions, halved lemon, and carrots. Bake for 30 minutes at 375°F.
Step 1.2: During this time toast your almonds in the saucepot over medium-low heat. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over them once completed and set aside for after.
Step 2: Take all of your ingredients from the oven except the lemon and place them in the saucepot with the butter. Turn the heat to medium. Once the mixture is hot, pour in the chicken stock and bring it to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the thyme.
Final
Step 3: At this point, use an emulsion blender to blend everything. Adjust with salt and pepper. To finish, add the toasted almonds on top and a dash of tabasco just for safekeeping with a squeeze of the roasted lemon. Devine.
Happy Mother’s Day again!
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss baseball and whatever else may come up this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me -- and hopefully, to you -- for your reading pleasure:
NFL execs unfiltered on Draft: Jets display urgency, Saints 'destroyed' value
The cringes, frustration and exhilaration on path to unique Bengals draft class
Never-too-early Top 25-and-1 for college basketball
Ranking top 25 basketball transfers
Ten winners & losers through the first month of the transfer portal
Jaren Jackson Jr. May Be the Future of NBA Defense … If He Can Stay on the Court - The Ringer
Aldridge: Beauty is in the finger to the eye of these NBA Playoffs
OKC Thunder could use some of Pat Williams' NBA Draft Lottery magic
Knicks, Lakers among NBA's worst fan pocketbook deals in 2021-22
SEC legends and legacies not always one and the same
'Have you seen the video?'— Phillies flip nightmare viral moment into standing ovation
Top 100 prospects for the MLB Draft
It’s early, but not too soon to begin the Cubs’ countdown to the trade deadline
Houston Astros fans drink the 6th most of any MLB fanbase, study says
Elon Musk explains why he wants to buy Twitter in TED interview
Point: There’s No Evidence That Masks Work
‘Not Good for Learning’ - The New York Times
Unruly Air Passenger Rates Declined After Mask Mandates Were Suspended - The New York Times
Nasa to launch naked pictures of humans to space in hope of ‘attracting aliens’
Alabama mom texts deceased son, receives miraculous response
What you see first in this mind-bending optical illusion says a lot about your personality
