The Daily Dose/March 20, 2024
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
SHOW US THE MONEY: The NCAA basketball tournaments began this week, and given the upheavals – both past and expected – throughout college sports, it’s reasonable to wonder what the future might hold.
Dry, Technical Matter: It might not be going anywhere for a while. CBS and others are contracted with the NCAA to pay upwards of $1 billion a year for the rights to the men’s tournament through 2032. So it would appear the NCAA is safe until then. But you never know because who in the hell ever thought the Pac-12 Conference would be conducting its final season this year? Greed has completely consumed college sports now.
OTOH: Still, the NCAA does run championships very well. You open the manhole cover, and you’ll find dozens of NCAA-sponsored championships in various divisions that don’t make billions of dollars, and a point can be made—especially at the Division II and III levels—that this is what college sports are all about.
Yeah, Yeah, Whatever: Major division sports, of course, are a completely different animal…Any semblance of amateurism by anyone is gone. If it’s determined that more money can be made with another jurisdiction conducting another tournament, then another jurisdiction will hold another tournament. It’s that simple. A billion dollars a year is a lot of money to turn down.
The Bottom Line: With TV contracts through 2032 and tournament sites scheduled through 2030, it would seem that the current structure is relatively safe. But don’t kid yourself. Every element of major division college sports – conferences, teams, networks, and players – is in it for themselves now. There is no common good: all anyone wants is to make as much money as possible, a business model that will eventually be crushed by sheer greed.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow has the hotel’s weekly Coke order. Today’s Diary.
Boy, this isn’t even a fraction of what we need…It will get us thru the week, maybe, but there certainly isn’t any margin for error: if we end up being busier than expected, we are going to run out of some stuff…
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On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1995 – A Japanese cult releases a nerve agent on Tokyo subways, killing 13, severely injuring several dozen more, and causing temporary blindness to hundreds. The attacks occurred in morning rush hour and only the fact the perpetrators used sarin as a liquid and not a gas prevented even more deaths. Over 200 members of the cult were arrested, with 13 later executed, others sentenced to varying prison terms or probation, with one found not guilty.
1965 – The UCLA Bruins win the NCAA basketball championship, defeating the Michigan Wolverines 91-80 in Portland. It was the second consecutive title for the Bruins and their second of eleven overall, and was the first of four runner-up finishes for Michigan to go with one championship. In the semifinals, UCLA had defeated Wichita State while Michigan had defeated Princeton, the second of three Final Four appearances by an Ivy League team.
In 1965 – Junior Walker & the All-Stars is at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart – then known as the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart – for the second of four non-consecutive weeks with Shotgun. It was the first chart single for the group, their first of twelve Top 10 hits, and remains their only #1 song. The song also peaked at #4 on the Hot 100. Walker was not scheduled to sing on the record, but someone didn’t show up and producer Barry Gordy decided to keep Walker’s vocals. Walker’s real name was Autry DeWalt.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
People who don’t believe in destiny don’t have one.
Taylor Cavanaugh
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
Knowledge is power.
The English House of Lords first met as a separate body in 1341, when the lower chamber, the House of Commons, decided to meet separately.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Which were the other Ivy League basketball teams to appear in the basketball Final Four? – Answer next time!
