Micah's Read of the Week, Vol. 101
The fluid future of college sports, New Yorker cartoon of the week, Recipe Corner, and more.
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College Football’s Rich Keep Getting Richer, at a Steep Cost to Everyone Else
The Big Ten followed the SEC’s lead in striking to add USC and UCLA, widening the chasm between the superpowers and the rest of the NCAA.
The stunning (but ultimately unsurprising) news broke Wednesday that USC and UCLA, the media-rights linchpins of the Pac-12, are in advanced negotiations to leave that league for the Big Ten. This was the response to the SEC’s massive acquisition of 2021, when it accepted Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12. Conference rivals turned colluding escapees. There almost certainly will be more aftershocks to come.
SI’s Pat Forde is all over this story that seriously changes everything in college sports.
More than ever, we are entering the long-anticipated, much-theorized era of two megapower conferences, the Southeastern and the Big Ten. They’ve long been the richest, but their successive summer blockbuster moves to acquire the best of the rest of the Power 5 leagues have widened the chasm between them and everyone else.
The thing gained by both the Los Angeles schools and the Big Ten is the only thing that matters in modern college sports: added revenue. That’s what drives every decision, regardless of the damage done to things like tradition, geographic sense, the “student-athlete” experience and any semblance of collegiality. It’s a straight mercenary endeavor, which underscores all the more that anyone angry at the players for getting a cut of the profits needs to sit down and shut up.
In a monetary vacuum, both sets of moves make sense.
Texas and Oklahoma will leave behind a smaller revenue pool for a bigger one, and the SEC will welcome two longtime cash cows to enhance its bottom line. For USC and UCLA, moving out of a conference of fading relevance to join one that is on the cusp of a record new media-rights deal smooths the path back to powerhouse status, and the Big Ten answers the SEC’s aggression with arguably an even bigger move.
It makes sense, but it also sucks. College athletics has continued its descent into soulless professionalism. Beyond adding big bucks, what’s lost is substantial. A brief list:
The next time anyone in any league talks about sticking together and loyalty, it’s perfectly acceptable to laugh in their faces.
West Coast tradition is gone. California, UCLA’s brethren in the UC university system, first played the Bruins in football in 1933. USC first played Stanford in 1905. Now those relationships have been tossed in the dumpster.
Regional sensibility continues to take a beating. The idea of UCLA and USC being in the same conference with Rutgers and Maryland is, of course, ludicrous. But it isn’t overly efficient for them to be in the same league with teams from the Midwest, either. The L.A. to West Lafayette commute ain’t easy. (Also: California football fans who hated the idea of 9 a.m. local kickoffs had better accept them. They’re inevitable now.)
Assuming that this Big Ten expansion will encompass all sports, the travel demands on the players just grew exponentially bigger. Example: When Penn State travels all day on a Monday to play UCLA in basketball on a Tuesday and then flies home overnight, 60% of the academic week is trashed. Coursework will be harder to maintain. In-season fatigue will increase. Mental health consequently will suffer. All the buzzword off-field stuff administrators pretend to care about will be further jeopardized. Don’t believe them when they say otherwise.
As we trend toward survival of the richest and fittest, how secure should the less marketable and successful schools feel within the Big Ten and SEC? If everything is negotiable and every agreement is breakable, is the Big Ten really committed to keeping Purdue and Minnesota for the long term? What about Vanderbilt and the Mississippi schools in the SEC?
If the Pac-12 further splinters or outright collapses, the almighty Rose Bowl and its sacred sunset could become a Big Ten property.
Don’t discount the added stress on independent Notre Dame, which has long rebuffed overtures from the Big Ten. The Fighting Irish hitched their wagon to the ACC in every sport but football and absolutely want to maintain their independence, but that latitude could dwindle in a world increasingly dominated by the SEC and Big Ten.
The end result could be two 16-team leagues that leave everyone else behind, but I wouldn’t expect either the Big Ten or SEC to stop there. The next step might well be going to 20. Then those two leagues could start their own playoff. Or each have separate playoffs that match their champions. Or each have playoff winners that they unilaterally declare the national champion without facing the other conference on the field.
This much is sure: Everything in college athletics is for sale, and cashing checks is the only thing that matters. That’s what drove Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC in the summer blockbuster of 2021, destabilizing the landscape. And now that’s what has driven USC and UCLA to the cusp of Big Ten membership in the jaw-dropping sequel.
It’s good for a few people. It’s bad for everyone else. And the dominoes are destined to keep falling. We’re nowhere near done.
Update: As we were set to publish, CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd dropped his own bombshell, reporting that the Big 12 is in deep discussions to add up to six Pac-12 teams (including, hilariously Colorado).
Follow the money.
New Yorker Cartoon of the Week
A word from Micah
Did you have a nice 4th? I hope you did.
At the family BBQ, the topic of the housing market probably popped up. What does everyone in your family say?
“I should have bought that place when I had the chance.” “We should have never sold that house in that neighborhood.” “We should have moved last year and we could have gotten the house we want.”
Don’t be the “I should have” family member at Christmas. Move now. The market has cooled slightly and homes are going for below asking price. We haven’t seen that in our market since COVID hit.
Yes, rates are higher than last year. But, I would rather pay $500k for a $500k house with a 6% interest rate than pay $625k last year for that same $500k house with a 3% interest rate. Trust me, furniture is expensive!
Schedule a risk-free mortgage consultation with me right now HERE. Or get started in just a few clicks at micahwiener.com.
Thank you for your support.
Back to the read…
So, about that Supreme Court ruling…
So, let’s talk about it.
I wasn’t ready to write about the Supreme Court last week. I’m still not sure if I’m ready. This is the single most decisive issue in our society, but I feel like I need to share how I’m feeling.
I want to have children with my wife. We want a family. We’ve been actively trying since we got married last October. Trying is hard and extremely stressful.
I share this because it’s scary for us. And the overturning of Roe makes it scarier.
There are people out there that believe that life begins at conception. It’s not my place to debate that position.
I will only discuss how this new decision and the laws of our state affect my family. According to the Mayo Clinic women older than age 35 have a higher risk of miscarriage than do younger women. At age 35, you have about a 20 percent risk. At age 40, the risk is about 40 percent.
Miscarriage is scary and traumatic at any time. It’s also not uncommon. The prospect is much scarier when your state’s lawmakers want to criminalize care related to a failed pregnancy. From Texas Monthly, The Texas Right Is Celebrating the End of Abortion Rights. What Freedoms Might It Target Next?:
District attorneys in conservative counties have said they stand ready to prosecute women seeking abortions and send them to prison for murder. A miscarriage could now be a death sentence for those whose doctors are averse to litigation or, worse, arrest.
Under Texas law, doctors who perform abortions will be subject to a possible prison sentence and a $100,000 fine. There are no exceptions for helping women victimized by rape or incest—nor for women with nonviable pregnancies, those in which a baby will not be born alive. Only pregnant women with life-threatening conditions or who are at risk of “substantial impairment of major bodily function” are exempt.
In Texas, if your wife or daughter or sister has a complication related to childbirth that doesn’t rise to the definition of “life-threatening,” it’s illegal to abort a pregnancy. I really don’t care about your position, that’s a scary thought.
I know that’s a hypothetical situation. But this policy has already affected Texans in practice.
In May of this year, an Austin woman was suffering from an ectopic pregnancy—a fertilized egg had implanted in her fallopian tube instead of her uterus, an excruciating condition that can be fatal if it causes the tube to rupture. The woman’s doctor called in a prescription for a drug called methotrexate to induce a miscarriage, but the pharmacist refused to fill it for fear of being sued under Senate Bill 8.
Because the treatment for abortion and miscarriage is often the same, those who experience the latter—at least one out of ten pregnancies—can expect additional delays and, most likely, additional grief.
We all have friends in our lives who have struggled with fertility. Many go through in vitro fertilization. It’s a painful, stressful, and expensive experience. Soon, it too could be criminal in Texas.
Most couples and individuals going through the process fertilize more than one egg, and sometimes many more, in order to raise the odds of conception. So what happens to the extras now that abortion is illegal? Currently, it is legal to let the embryos thaw, which makes them no longer viable. But does that now constitute an abortion?
I’m not asking anyone to change their position on this subject. I just wanted to share what we and countless others are feeling. Thank you for understanding.
Recipe Corner
Garlic Butter Sautéed Shrimp
(1 lb) shrimp, peeled and deveined
(2 oz) spinach
(2 oz) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 garlic cloves
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon each: ground coriander, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, black pepper, smoked paprika
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grate the garlic into a medium bowl. Add shrimps, 1 tbsp olive oil, fish sauce, coriander, cumin, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika and black pepper. Toss and set aside for 10 minutes.
It’s important to prepare everything fast and cook over a high heat. Heat the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Place the shrimps in a single layer, sear for 1 minute. Flip and sear the other side, 1 minute. Pour white wine, cook for 1 minute. Add butter, stir until melted. Then add spinach and toss until wilted, 30 seconds to 1 minute max. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve!
Vietnamese Tomato Salad
Peak tomato SZN continues!
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup fish sauce (preferably Red Boat or Three Crabs)
¼ cup fresh lime juice
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 Persian or kirby cucumber, halved lengthwise, sliced into half-moons
1 Hungarian wax, Jimmy Nardello, or green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, sliced
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
1½ lb. mixed heirloom tomatoes, halved if small, cut into wedges if large
2 cups coarsely chopped mixed tender herbs (such as dill, cilantro, and/or Thai basil)
Freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup crushed salted dry-roasted peanuts
⅓ cup store-bought fried shallots
Place sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and 1 Tbsp. water in a jar. Cover and shake dressing vigorously until combined and sugar is dissolved.
Combine fennel, cucumber, sweet pepper, raw shallot, tomatoes, and herbs in a large bowl; season generously with black pepper. Drizzle ½ cup dressing over and toss salad to combine. Taste and add more dressing if desired.
Transfer salad to a platter and top with peanuts and fried shallots.
Did Micah practice yoga this weekend?
No. I’ll be back next week. That’s a promise.
I did run a beer mile on Sunday. That was painful. I would not recommend it.
That’s 22 in-person weekend classes in 26 weeks this year. Really need to get busy.
More Micah
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