The Sporting News' Matt Hayes talked with the head football coach at Oklahoma over pay-for-play and full-cost scholarships, and Stoops didn't mince his words.
“I tell my guys all the time,” Stoops said. “You’re not the first one to spend a hungry Sunday without any money.”
So Stoops is an old-school guy. We get that. But Stoops doesn't even believe players should get a stipend increase, which would cover the players' extra expenses associated with campus life. More from Sporting News:
“You know what school would cost here for non-state guy? Over $200,000 for room, board and everything else,” Stoops said. “That’s a lot of money. Ask the kids who have to pay it back over 10-15 years with student loans. You get room and board, and we’ll give you the best nutritionist, the best strength coach to develop you, the best tutors to help you academically, and coaches to teach you and help you develop. How much do you think it would cost to hire a personal trainer and tutor for 4-5 years?
“I don’t get why people say these guys don’t get paid. It’s simple, they are paid quite often, quite a bit and quite handsomely.”
Oh boy. Opened can, meet worms.
The arguments for and against changes in the NCAA's current athletic scholarships are varied. Some proponents for change believe the players should be paid to play, and some think they should have the full costs of their scholarships covered. Others, like Stoops, think the players get enough.
Yes, the BCS is getting rich with free labor. Yes, that bothers a lot of people. A growing segment of world citizens believes it's entitled to a share of the wealth, and that philosophy has grown among Americans, as well. Sharing the wealth, however, can backfire and cause a crisis, as we've seen in several European countries. What happens when the money runs out?
But we're talking about football players here. Human beings risking possible long-term, irreparable damage to their bodies while making a lot of money for some suits. While not all schools are in the black, the BCS is doing quite well, thank you very much. So why not pay the players?
Do you agree or disagree with Bob Stoops?
Agree completely
56.3%
Disagree completely
13.8%
I agree that players shouldn't get paid but think there should be a full-cost scholarship available.
29.9%
Do the proponents for change really understand how much the players get from the school that can't be defined by a number? And if those same proponents feel that players should be paid to play college football, why do the players go to college and play without pay in the first place?
If a high school football player wants to play in the NFL, he currently has to wait three years from graduation before he can declare himself eligible for the draft. College is obviously a great opportunity—the player can hone his skills under the best coaches while getting a quality education.
Playing at a BCS school also gives the player publicity that can increase his worth when it's time for the draft. That's something you can't put a price tag on.
Stoops doesn't want a scholarship's full cost covered, and pay-to-play is off the table as well—Stoops already believes that players are getting paid enough. While Stoops didn't delve into the problems of paying football players in his statements, we'll go ahead and highlight the issues.
Who gets paid what? Do the star quarterback and the fourth-string tackle get paid the same amount?
What if a player gets hurt? Should he still get paid despite not contributing on the field? What happens when a player is paid but ends up academically ineligible and can't play? What if smaller schools can't afford to pay their players? What happens if a player doesn't pay his taxes and his wages get garnished?
What about Title IX? Athletic departments won't be able to afford to pay female athletes in non-revenue sports. What happens to the school's endowment when boosters stop donating to the athletic department because their donations are no longer tax write-offs?
Stoops may have his reasons for not paying college football players to play, but the notion of his not being on board for the full cost of scholarships is a little cold. Isn't that like taking your teenage daughter to Bloomingdale's to buy her a prom dress but telling her she can only spend $15?
Without his players, Stoops wouldn't be making over $4 million per year. He's getting rich off of them. Why not make sure that all of their financial needs are being met while they possibly sacrifice their long-term health?
Maybe the problem could be solved in a very simple way.
Lift the current three-year waiting period from high school graduation to the NFL. It's an archaic rule, and it needs to be stricken immediately. Baseball, hockey and basketball players don't have to wait three years, so why should football players?
Let the student-athlete make a choice after high school graduation: Go directly to the NFL or go to college and hone his skills and get a degree. And if he chooses college, make sure all of his costs are covered. As a college student, Stoops didn't have nearly the same living costs as today's college students. Technology makes everything more expensive.
Stoops needs to get with the times and show a little more compassion for today's college football players. Stop reminding us that you starved on Sundays, and please don't tell us how you walked to school in the snow.
We get it. Stoops doesn't want change. But times have changed. Full cost of scholarship isn't that radical, and neither is lifting the three-year waiting period.
Let the football player decide his future. And let him live with that decision. And your take?
NHL emerges from lockout gloom in record-breaking fashion.
By Nicholas J. Cotsonika This might be hard to hear, but here goes: Gary Bettman was right. The commissioner of the National Hockey League knew what he was doing as he weighed the risks and rewards during the lockout. In reality, the risks were never that great. The rewards already are.
Bettman made a calculated business decision. He sacrificed a few months and ticked off a lot of people, but he secured a better labor agreement for the owners and could count on the fans and sponsors to come back, based on history and cold, hard data.
By salvaging a 48-game regular season, Bettman set up the NHL to rebound immediately. The league returned for the time of year when it always draws the most attention and generates the most revenue, anyway, and it amped up the competition with a compressed, every-game-matters sprint to the playoffs.
For all the loud protests and dire predictions, the fans haven’t seemed angry or apathetic. They have seemed eager and engaged. Just 2-1/2 months after the NHL got back to business, business is booming, and the league is looking at ways to goose growth to record levels in the future.
“I know much has been made about momentum leading up to where we are today, and most of that speculation was inaccurate,” said Bettman Sunday after announcing the Winter Classic outdoor showcase would return next season. “We’re having an extraordinarily strong season – exciting, competitive – and I think our fans have reconnected in ways for which we are both grateful and excited.”
Not everyone foresaw doom. Right after the lockout ended, Rodney Fort, a sports economist at the University of Michigan, said the fans would return. “In fact,” he said, “we may not even notice any difference.”
While fans and media fed off emotion and anecdotal evidence, sports economists knew how little lockouts and strikes had affected attendance figures and TV ratings in the past across professional sports. They also knew what they didn’t know. Leagues have access to information no one else does, like how season-ticket holders and sponsors are really directing their dollars and how many are actually defecting. They have an educated idea of how far they can really push in labor negotiations and what the cost-benefit calculation really is. “We keep metrics all the time,” Bettman said. “Rather than engage in the speculation that many do, we actually try and do some real research, and our fans have reconnected in a very big way.” Still, these metrics – compiled by the NHL halfway through this shortened season – are remarkable:
There have been plenty of great storylines, starting with Chicago's season-opening streak. (AP)
NHL arenas were at 97.2-percent capacity, with an average crowd of 17,719, up 2.7 percent over 2011-12. Eighteen teams were up in attendance percentages from last season, and seven more were at least even, leaving only five laggards. TV ratings on major networks were up compared to full season figures from 2011-12 – 17 percent on NBC (excluding the Winter Classic), 15 percent on NBC Sports Network, 9 percent on CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada,” 19 percent on TSN on Wednesday nights, 6 percent on TSN2, 12 percent on RDS. TV ratings on many regional networks were up, too, sometimes spectacularly. “In some markets, they’re going for record ratings,” said NHL chief operating officer John Collins. “The Chicago Blackhawks, I think their regional ratings were approaching the Michael Jordan Bulls. In a lot of markets where you have a hockey team and a basketball team, hockey’s [drawing higher ratings] – Boston, Philadelphia.”
Unique visits to NHL.com were up 13 percent compared to the same time last year. Page views were up 15 percent. Subscriptions to the Center Ice TV package and GameCenter Live Internet package almost doubled from 2011-12, which is impressive despite a price cut of more than half. “It’s not really apples to apples,” Collins said. “But what it did do is show what kind of demand there is for hockey.” What the NHL did, it seems, was pent up demand and unleash it on limited supply. “Even I’m surprised at this level of robustness,” Fort wrote in an email Monday. “We’ve known that there really is no detectable downturn, but this type of positive response is more than I would have expected. Maybe there’s a lesson here for leagues interested in altering the length of their regular seasons?” That is a fascinating question. Would leagues generate more revenue per game with fewer games – especially if it improves player safety and the quality of the product? But that’s a question for another day. For now, consider this: The NHL looks like it will end up losing a relatively small amount of revenue because of the lockout, and for the owners, it looks like it will be well worth the cost. They could take a long-term view that the players, with their limited careers, could not.
Coming out of the lockout, the NHL projected $2 billion to $2.3 billion in hockey-related revenue this season. It remains on target, the final number depending on which markets make the playoffs and how things play out. The league generated $3.3 billion last season. Based on that figure, the lockout likely will result in $1 billion to $1.3 billion of lost revenue – 43 percent to 50 percent of which would have gone to the owners, depending on labor negotiations. Even if you use a higher figure – to account for more growth, after seven straight years of record revenue though 2011-12 – the owners will more than make up what they sacrificed over the life of a 10-year agreement. The new deal gives the players 50 percent of HRR instead of 57. The owners will make more than $2 billion more than they would have under the old deal if revenues stay flat at $3.3 billion each of the next nine years – and revenues are not expected to stay flat. They are expected to grow substantially. Collins said the NHL has a “bunch of new relationships” with sponsors that it will announce over the next couple of months. He said the league is looking hard at more outdoor games, as well as a World Cup tournament and more European events. The NHL will negotiate a new Canadian TV contract after next season. What if new ownership sparks the Phoenix Coyotes or the team relocates to a higher-revenue market? What if the NHL expands? Bettman insists the league is not looking at relocation or expansion, and NHL sources insist expansion is years away, if it ever comes. But we’ll see. “I would hope that in 10 years our business will be well beyond where we are today,” Collins said. No wonder both sides fought so hard for their slices of the pie. No wonder Bettman was willing to shut down the league to get as much as he could. No wonder the lockout ended when it did. “We were hopeful we could come back as strong as possible,” Bettman said. “How strong we came back is a testament to the game and our fans.”
Masters Articles, info and Updates.
Golf-Garcia and Leishman lead Masters, Tiger lurks.
Reuters - By Mark Lamport-Stokes
* Garcia and Leishman seizes control with 66s
* Tournament favorite Woods opens with a 70
* Defending champion Watson battles to a 75 (Updates at end of round)
Sergio Garcia and surprise package Marc Leishman seized joint control in Thursday's opening round at the Masters, though tournament favorite Tiger Woods was lurking just four shots off the pace.
On a mainly overcast day at Augusta National where there was very little wind, Spaniard Garcia and Australian Leishman fired six-under-par 66s to surge one stroke clear of the field in the year's opening major.
Long-hitting American Dustin Johnson, who missed last year's Masters due to a back injury, also got to six under but bogeyed the tricky par-four 17th to end the day alone in third after shooting a 67.
Former champion Fred Couples, at 53, rolled back the years as he carded a 68 to finish level with fellow Americans Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar, Englishman David Lynn, South African Trevor Immelman and Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
However, no one in the upper reaches of the leaderboard will be able to ignore the ominous presence of four-times champion Woods who, watched by girlfriend Lindsey Vonn and five-deep galleries when he started his round, finished with a 70.
The world number one opened with a 70 on the way to his first three victories at Augusta National and is perfectly placed as he bids to win his first major title since the 2008 U.S. Open.
"It was a good day, a solid day," the 37-year-old Woods told reporters after mixing three birdies with a sole bogey on greens which ran a little slower than he expected.
"The biggest challenge today was just the speed of the greens. They just weren't quite there. They looked it, but just weren't quite putting it."
Woods, who has been installed as a hot favorite this week after winning three times in his first five starts on the 2013 PGA Tour, made a solid start with a two-putt par at the first, where he has often struggled in the past.
The 14-times major champion picked up his first shot of the day at the par-three sixth, then birdied the par-five eighth to reach the turn in two-under 34.
Though Woods failed to cash in on the back nine, offsetting a birdie at the par-five 13th with a bogey at 14 before failing to birdie the par-five 15th, he was overall happy with his round.
"It's a good start. I hit the ball very solid today and lag-putted pretty good today and I made a few here and there. Right now I'm only four back and I'm right there."
CHINESE DELIGHT
One of the most impressive performances of the day came from 14-year-old Chinese Guan Tianlang who rolled in a 14-foot birdie putt from just off the green at the last for a 73, the best score among the six amateurs competing this week.
Three-times champion Phil Mickelson opened with a 71 while Northern Irish world number two Rory McIlroy, who squandered a four-shot overnight lead with a final-round 80 at the 2011 Masters, carded a 72.
Thirty-three players in the field of 93 ended the day under par after taking advantage of relatively calm conditions at the spiritual home of American golf known by many as the 'Cathedral of Pines,' but defending champion Bubba Watson battled to a 75.
Garcia, at the age of 33 still hunting his first major title, was delighted to complete a bogey-free round at a venue where he has never been entirely happy.
"Today was a nice day," said the Spaniard, who has recorded just two top-10s while missing four cuts in his previous 14 appearances. "It's obviously not my most favorite place, but we try to enjoy it as much as we can each time we come here.
"I played extremely well the first 10 holes and then I struggled with a couple of tee shots here and there over the last six or seven holes.
"What I'm going to try to take into my pillow tonight, it's the first 10 holes. Without a doubt, I feel like it's the best ten holes I've played at the Masters."
Leishman, making only his second appearance at the Masters, rebounded from a bogey at the par-four first with seven birdies to set the early pace, making mockery of the belief that local knowledge is a prime factor here.
The 29-year-old Australian played flawless golf on the hilly layout after making his only mistake of the round at the tricky opening hole.
"It was a good day obviously," said Leishman, who booked his place at the Masters by winning his maiden PGA Tour title at last year's Travelers Championship.
"I got off to a bit of a shaky start, a few nerves early. But I got those out of the way with a birdie at three and then we're away.
"I hit some good shots, made some reasonably easy pars, and I think that's what gave me the confidence to go on from there."
Welshman Jamie Donaldson produced the shot of the day with a hole-in-one at the 180-yard par-three sixth, recording the 24th ace at the Masters on the way to an opening 74.
Eubanks: Masters champ Watson one of a kind.
By PGA.COM
Bubba Watson cries.
That comes as no grand revelation to those who have spent any time around the defending Masters champion. Bubba is a frenetic, emotional creature with the attention span of a toddler who just ate a bag of candy. But there is never any question about what he thinks, where he stands or what he is feeling. This is a guy who cries during the National Anthem at baseball games, someone who can barely get through a dinner-table prayer without his voice cracking; a man who cannot speak of his late father in complete sentences without breaking down, and who has wept in the arms of family members after each of his four wins. He is also the person who made Dufnering a thing by posting the first picture of himself in the comatose pose propped up against his famous Dodge Challenger, the General Lee. And he posts videos of himself doing everything from trolling his house in a Santa Claus suit to driving a hovercraft golf cart over a pond and onto a green. He smashes produce with a golf club on late-night television and will video-bomb a reporter during a live broadcast. On the flip side, Bubba also went verbally ballistic on Steve Elkington after Elk supposedly moved during his backswing, and he is someone who mumbles insults loud enough to be heard three rows deep in the gallery during his rounds.
He is awkward, often inappropriate, certainly the most easily diagnosed ADHD candidate to have never seen a doctor, and the most creative, talent-rich player on tour today. But he is something else as well, something that makes him almost irresistible: he is genuine. This is not a player who feels the need to dye his spiked hair or wear neon clothing to get attention. With his solid white shirt buttoned to his neck and trousers that look like they came from the "uncool" rack at Macy's, Bubba walks out of the clubhouse looking as vanilla as anyone in golf.
He feels no need to feign sophistication as evidenced by the menu at the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night in Augusta -- a grilled chicken, green bean and macaroni and cheese plate that could have easily come from the value menu at KFC.
The savant doesn't show up until the clubs come out. That is when he does things that no one in the history of the game ever dreamed possible. On the range this week, Bubba had done what he always does, going through his entire bag without hitting the same shot twice. He hits low cuts, high hooks, high slices, and mid-range knock-down draws: never once attempting anything conventional and never feeling the need to hit a shot more than once.
That same mindset carries over into competition where Bubba hits shots no one else even sees: like the 370-yard driver off the fairway at Kapalua that sliced 100 yards into the middle of the green, or the drive he hit during the Tavistock Cup that started over Lake Isleworth and sliced 70 yards into the center of the fairway, or the most famous rope-hook gap wedge in history from the pine straw at Augusta National, a shot that still has the people shaking their head in awe from a spot that has become a tourist attraction at Augusta National.
"Sunday when me and my wife were playing, we were coming down off of 18 tee, there as a group of guys over there," Bubba said in his press conference on Tuesday. "I yelled at them and I said, 'No, that's not the spot, it's a little over.' Turns out it was Billy Casper and his son."
He would love to see a plaque on the ground there -- "Wouldn't you?" he asked rhetorically -- but he was quick to point out that he would never presume to ask Augusta National to put one there.
Bubba harbors a genuine and heartfelt love for the traditions of Augusta, even if he sometimes doesn't know quite how to show it. So, he cries.
When asked if he had done anything interesting in his green jacket, his face tightened and the tears streamed down his face before he finally composed himself enough to admit that he had wrapped his then newly-adopted son Caleb in it.
Caleb will be a part of the festivities on Wednesday as well, making an appearance during the par-three contest when children and grandchildren are as much a part of the action as the players.
But don't expect any shenanigans from Bubba -- no disrobing or jumping in the water or use of his standard tag-line, "You're welcome."
"I have too much respect for Augusta National," he said. He didn't cry after that line, but no one doubted his sincerity in the least.
Masters tickets are the most expensive in sports.
By Shane Bacon If you've ever thought about taking that bucket list journey to Augusta, Georgia to check out the golf spectacle of the year, you better start saving. Next week marks the first major championship of the year and it isn't just the most exciting week of the golf season, but the most expensive, and that isn't just this game. The Masters is the expensive ticket in all of sports, according to a report by the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, topping out at $4,486 if you want to see all four days of tournament action. Just a one-day pass can run anywhere from $1,215 to $1,786 depending on the day and even a practice round during Masters week can cost you up to $1,118 (as the AJC points out, that's as much as a four day pass to the PGA Championship). By comparison a ticket to the Super Bowl costs just $1,210, so if you want the hottest ticket in all of sports, you better be prepared for a trip the Masters. The good news about how expensive it is to hit up the Masters is that once you're inside the ropes, and past the Augusta gate, your wallet lightens tremendously (as long as you avoid the merchandise tent, which you won't do). Beers cost just $3 (and you get to keep the cup, which has the Masters logo and the year on it) and the famous pimento cheese sandwiches are only $1.50 (even though, trust me, you'll be eating more than one of those bad boys). And while the tickets might be the highest in all of sports, there is literally not a place you'd rather be than walking those grounds during the week of the Masters wondering where in the world your goosebumps hibernate for the other 51 weeks of the year.
Nicklaus recalls 55 memorable years at Masters. By Jim Litke, Associated Press
Jack Nicklaus loves absolutely everything about Augusta National. But being reminded how many years have elapsed since he won the first time, let alone the first time he made the drive up Magnolia Lane? Not so much. Nicklaus sat in the interview room at the Masters for an hour Tuesday, and had more than enough material for two. He grimaced when club member Ed Herlihy introduced him by saying "he returns to Augusta National 50 years removed from his first of a record six jackets," and turned wistful for a moment at the end. "I can't imagine anybody having more fun doing what I've done and getting paid for it," Nicklaus said, "and also being able to sit here in front of you guys at 73 years old, so I can spout a bunch of stuff that I had no idea whether you were listening or not, or care about." In between, Nicklaus had that same roomful of reporters eating out of the palm of his hand. He spun so many entertaining tales about the 55 years he's been coming to Augusta that there isn't room to recount them all here. A quick sampling: --Nicklaus was revered throughout the years for his willingness to advise young players at every level of ability. Thirty years ago, he responded to a letter from a 13-year-old left-handed player from Canada who wrote to ask whether he should switch and play right-handed. That kid, Mike Weir, went on to win the Masters in 2003. Earlier this week, he helped the latest long-driving sensation, Nicolas Colsaerts. In a day or two, Nicklaus will do the same for Guan Tianlang, a 14-year-old Chinese player who will become the youngest competitor ever at the Masters and wrote to ask for tips. Asked whether he delivers the same message to everyone who seeks him out, Nicklaus simply smiled. "I'm not smart enough to have different ones," he said. --Several questions went back to his final Masters in 1986, perhaps the most famous win here ever. Nicklaus was 46 at the time and hadn't won a major in six years. He recalled slowly playing his way into contention on the back nine, talking with his son, Jackie, to relieve some of the pressure. "At 16, I hit a 5-iron in there, it was 175 yards, and I just threw a soft 5-iron up in the air. And I remember when I hit the shot, Jackie said, `Be right, be right.' And I said," Nicklaus paused for effect, "`It is." "It was the cockiest remark I ever made." --Masters co-founder Bobby Jones, whose record of 13 majors Nicklaus would eclipse, took an interest in the young Golden Bear and invited him and his father to his cabin for long discussions on subjects ranging from golf to philosophy. A reporter asked, "Can you give us a flavor of the conversation?" Nicklaus did, and the reporter asked a follow-up, "Did you say anything, or were you listening?" Nicklaus didn't have to think long about the answer. "It's one of the few times," he recalled "I probably didn't say too much." --Nicklaus could have gone on like that forever. But Herlihy, moderating the conversation, finally noted that Nicklaus had to attend the champions dinner and offered one last question. "If you hadn't had such extraordinary talent as a golfer, what would you like to have done with your life?" Nicklaus said he believed he would have wound up "somewhere in sports," then looked out at the roomful of reporters and added, "I may have ended up sitting out here." "Lucky you could play golf," the questioner offered. "Well," Nicklaus said finally, "I can't spell, either."
The mystery of how Arnold Palmer orders his own drink has been solved. By Shane Bacon Imagine for a second that you're Arnold Palmer, a seven-time major championship winner, business icon and refreshment drink namesake. You are out at Augusta National on a spring day and you're thirsty. Maybe a water will do, or a soda, or even a refreshing beer to help wash down one of Augusta's fine lunch options. No, an Arnold Palmer will do. That's what Steve Politi of the Star-Ledger noticed on Monday at the Masters. Palmer was in his green jacket, having a lunch and enjoying the drink that he created when Politi started wondering just how the legend actually ordered his own drink. Remember, this is a drink that is now as famous as the man behind it. We've seen a "Sportscenter" commercial dedicated to it, a "30 for 30" short that runs over nine minutes on the drink that mixes iced tea and lemonade and we've seen his face on cans at every golf course from Pebble Beach to Pine Valley. So how did he order his drink? Here is what Politi wrote. I chased Kesley, the waitress serving Arnold Palmer yesterday, back to the bar where she was putting in another drink order. "How did Arnie order his drink?" "He leaned over and said, 'I'll have a Mr. Palmer.' Then he winked," Kesley said. As the "Sportscenter" anchors said, "That was awesome." Time to start thinking about golfing in Chicago; a true hidden gem of diverse courses. Chicago Sports&Travel/AllsportsAmerica wants you. Golf season is upon us and for you diehard golfers that want to try something different, come golf in Chicago. Our group at CS&T/AA, Golf Options Illinois Forever, is ready to accommodate you with some of the most diverse golf courses in one location. Regardless of your golfing ability, we have a group of courses for you to play. We arrange your transportation, lodging, tee times and any miscellaneous request that you might have. There is so much to see and do when you’re not on the golf course. Chicago has wonderful architecture, excellent museums, very good ethnic food, a great night life, remarkable professional sports teams, a diverse population with unlimited potential that has earned it several nicknames such as, “The city that works”, The city of big shoulders”, “The windy city”, “The second city” and “A true world class city.” It all works for us and we want to share it with you. Come golf in Chicago. Email us at chicagosportsandtravel@yahoo.com and let us see what we can do for you. We guarantee you that all of our packages are very rare but priced super fair. Try us, we’re sure you’ll like us. We sincerely look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, “Have a great sports day!!!!!"
Goat's head delivered to Wrigley Field.
Associated Press
The Chicago Cubs found a severed goat's head at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, and they're treating the cruel reference to a longtime curse as a crime.
Chicago police were called in to investigate after a man stopped the white van he was driving, walked a box to a security entrance on Waveland Avenue and wordlessly put it down, Cubs spokesman Julian Green said.
Security workers opened the box, addressed to team owner Tom Ricketts, and discovered the severed head. The team immediately called police.
Green said Thursday that police were given surveillance video, and that he doesn't know why someone would deliver a goat's head. Police did not comment on who might have left the goat head or a possible motive — other than to refer to the head in a brief statement as an "intimidating package."
Cubs manager Dale Sveum had a theory, of sorts.
"Obviously, it's just an unfortunate fan doing something pretty stupid," he said.
The significance of the goat, however, isn't lost on many. In 1945, a tavern owner named William "Billy Goat" Sianis tried to bring a goat to a World Series game, but was told his goat — which had a ticket — smelled too much to be admitted. Sianis angrily put a curse on the team and since then, the Cubs haven't been back to the World Series.
Fans have had little to cheer on the field in recent years, as the Cubs lost more than 100 games last year and are off to a rocky start this season. As for Ricketts, he's been negotiating a $300 million renovation of the stadium, built almost a century ago, with the city and neighborhood businesses.
Police have not said whether the head is believed to be linked to those negotiations — or anything else.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Thursday he has contacted Ricketts about the head.
"There's nothing else to say, it speaks for itself, it's wrong to do," Emanuel said. "I did call Tom last night, and said obviously that the police need to do something, we'll be on it."
Cubs players, however, weren't intimidated by the gesture.
"That's probably just an upset fan or a fan of another team," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said before the Cubs played the San Francisco Giants on Thursday. "My opinion it's just dumb, but it is what it is."
Pitcher Jeff Samardzija was disappointed with the lack of creativity.
"Very original since it's only been around for 60, 70 years," pitcher Jeff Samardzija said. "You'd think they'd come up with something different."
As for Green, he doesn't want anything to do with another goat.
"We've got one too many goat legends," he said. "We don't need another one."
With black participation down in MLB, a diversity task force goes to work. ByDavid Brown Black people, specifically those from the United States, don't play Major League Baseball at the peak numbers they did during the mid-1980s. In order to figure out why, commissioner Bud Selig created a 17-person diversity task force, with Detroit Tigers president Dave Dombrowski serving as chairman. The committee's first meeting happens today in Milwaukee. There will be blacks on the committee, too. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes that 8.5 percent of the players on 25-man opening-day rosters were blacks from the U.S., down from a high of 19 percent in 1986, citing statistics published by Mark Armour of the Society of American Baseball Research. Numbers like those, along with the coming this week of "42," a movie biography of Jackie Robinson, leave Selig shrugging:
“I really think our history is so brilliant when it comes to African-Americans,” Selig said. “You think about the late 1940s, the 1950s — wow. And you look at that and you say to yourself, ‘Why did it not continue, and what could we do to make sure it does continue?’ ”
Reading between the lines of his quotes, Selig doesn't seem convinced that MLB necessarily has a problem, per se. But he wants to at least appear earnest in finding out for sure. MLB has initiatives going out in the world, such as the Urban Youth Academy, which focus on helping young ballplayers of color get into major league systems. Aaron Hicks of the Minnesota Twins is the latest first UYA graduate to reach the majors. He might have tried to play another sport — in his case, golf — if baseball had not reached out. And that seems to be the rub: Making sure kids are playing baseball, that youth leagues are fully funded, that college (and the scholarships that can accompany college) is an option. Some sociologists (amateur and otherwise) swear that black kids simply are playing other sports, or video games (something that is claimed about kids of all colors) and that has helped to dwindle the numbers. But is basketball, for example, really more popular now than in 1986? I seem to recall a lot of Michael Jordan fans out there. Regardless, some of these factors would seem to be out of MLB's control — unless it wanted to hand out more cash. The owners already spend lots of money developing the talents of adults trying to play the game. Of course, many of those funds go to international players — and how many horror stories do we hear about how poorly some of them are treated anyway? The players union might be sympathetic to a point in giving back to the kids, but asking wealthy ballplayers to invest in tomorrow isn't really appropriate. They have to want to do it — and many of them already do, probably to an extent we don't fully realize. What is the benefit for them in giving more? These guys aren't about to invest heavily in minor league players, much less subsidize hundreds of youth leagues or scholarship funds. Why? For an extra 5-10 percent black participation in the major league, maybe, in 15 years? However, if baseball really wants to get 15 or 20 participation by blacks, lots of money probably is what it will take. And that's just to start. (Editor's note: An earlier version of this story said Hicks was the first Urban Youth Academy grad to reach the majors. He is actually the fourth. Trayvon Robinson, Efren Navarro and Anthony Gose also came through the Urban Youth Academy.)
NFL's Hall of Fame expects record turnout.
Associated Press The Pro Football Hall of Fame expects a record turnout of members for its inductions celebrating its 50th anniversary. As many as 130 Hall of Famers are expected to attend from Aug. 2-4 as Larry Allen, Cris Carter, Curley Culp, Jonathan Ogden, Bill Parcells, Dave Robinson and Warren Sapp are enshrined. Already, 90 hall members have confirmed they will be on hand, including Dick Butkus, Earl Campbell, Joe Greene, Jerry Rice, Don Shula, Bruce Smith and Emmitt Smith. That is far more than the usual turnout: "Typically there are 75-80 returning Hall of Famers attending the various enshrinement festival events," Hall of Fame President/Executive Director Steve Perry said. "We feel confident that we will have a record turnout by our Hall of Famers." Special events involving the returning Hall of Famers are being planned, including a "Red Carpet" arrival by the Hall of Famers and the 2013 enshrinees.
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