The Morning Stake | 2020.04.14

HEY YA!
Email me! Let’s Discuss Advertising Too!
Follow us on Twitter!
Lubbock In The Loop. Check out Lubbock In The Loop for a list of Lubbock restaurants that offer curbside delivery.
Podcasts. Check out your guys, Spencer and Michael, on 23 Personnel Podcast, a Texas Tech athletics podcast where food and sports clash at the goal line, as well as Keith Patrick and Dinger Derby, the only, yes only, podcast about Texas Tech baseball.

Via NBC Sports has a bit on Chris Fowler, who has some “informed speculation” that there is a possibility that the college football season could start in February and end in May or June

In an Instagram video posted on Sunday, ESPN’s lead college football play-by-play man talked through the drawbacks of positioning the 2020 college football season to be played as scheduled, to be played in November, or to be pushed back all the way to February. That third scenario, Fowler says, is “gaining momentum” among “a lot of reasonable people” and might emerge as the “most prudent course of action.”

I have no idea when things will start, but also via NBC Sports, College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock thinks that they are planning to do their thing on time and starting to ramp up their planning:

“There’s a long ramp-up time for this,” he said. “Could it be shorter? Sure. What is it? I don’t know. Would it be the same? No, it wouldn’t be the same. I can promise you the Super Bowl people are knee-deep into Tampa prep right now. Knee deep. We all do the same thing. We’re all very deliberate about our planning. Could we do it without that ramp-up time? Yes.”

Hancock also realizes that what happens medically is how things will play out how the season will play out:

“It’s only April,” he said. “It’s just too soon. It’s premature. The decision about whether to have a season and a CFP won’t be made by the coaches and commissioners. It will be made by the medical people. We have to be prepared, and we will be prepared, to have a CFP.”

The other aspect of this is that Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel writes about how the potential financial shortfall for college athletics could force an expansion of the playoffs:

One of the refreshing perspectives from speaking to officials around the sport is that some of the next generation of leaders are annoyed with the postseason still being tethered to the bowl system. Essentially, college sports are still outsourcing their most valuable inventory. That has always been dumb.

“I think we should do 16,” a Power Five AD said. “If not, at least 12. That’s what everyone wants. That’s where the value is. Athletes want it, fans want it and TV wants it.”

The AD, who is at a school that’s perennially in the top 20, put it this way: Observe the actions and habits of the fans and players, the sport’s two most important constituencies. Fans care exponentially less about non-playoff bowl games than they do College Football Playoff games. Elite players are tipping their hand — wisely, by the way— by sitting out non-playoff bowl games.

“There’s two really important groups to whom bowls don’t matter – players and fans,” the athletic director said. “Has a [healthy] player sat out a playoff game yet? Well, why don’t we play more of those? That’s just Marketing 101. What do they want? Give them more. What don’t they want? Give them less.”

I think this is less about the actual expansion, but more about what would happen if the playoffs were expanded.

This ESPN WBNA mock draft has Brittany Brewer going to the Dallas Wings with the 3rd pick of the second round. Meanwhile, this Swish Appeal mock draft has Brewer going 26th overall:

Brewer was outstanding as a senior, averaging a double-double (16.6 points and 10.3 rebounds) while bringing elite help defense. Her 4.4 blocks per game ranked second in the nation, while her 11.4 percent block rate ranked 12th. She also played some of her best basketball against Baylor, which is a key test for any Big 12 player. Don’t sleep on Brewer as a second- or third-round pick who could potentially make a WNBA roster.

The WNBA draft is set for Friday, so hopefully Brewer will have her name called.

You may not want to do this to yourself, but this is the 2020 season recap and it is extremely well done.

Here are some tweets.

Back To Top