College sports landscape faces major changes

And is soccer about to take over?

Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a great start.

A lot has transpired since our last newsletter, so let’s start with the NCAA. ICYMI, the NCAA recently announced it will work on streamlining it’s constitution. The revised document is expected to be released early next year.

The story has received little play, which is somewhat surprising because the outcome could change the collegiate sports landscape. In a nutshell, the new constitution would decentralize the NCAA’s governing body and hand more power and money to conferences, particularly the SEC, PAC-12 and other big name conferences. The ripple effect this could have on mid-majors in college basketball and lower level FBS schools, such as UConn, Akron, etc., could have major implications. Watch for this story to get more play, as we approach 2022.

Soccer about to score a big deal

Remember the days when you drove by athletic fields and invariably a baseball game was being played? More often than not there is usually a soccer game going on in 2021. Soccer is also appealing to the television networks in the U.S. Wordis CBS, NBC and ESPN are battling it out for the TV rights to the Premier League and that each network is willing to pony up $2billion to televise the games.

Why? Well, like the renowned bank robber Willie Sutton once said, “I rob banks because that’s where the money is,” TV in the U.S. is vying for soccer rights because that’s where the viewers are. MLB, you might want to take note.

PGA in battle mode

A few weeks back, former PGA star Greg Norman announced he was going to take on the PGA Tour with a counter tour, backed by investors from Saudi Arabia. In other words, it would be like the old AFL fighting the NFL or the ABA battling the NBA. (Ah, those were the days.)

The Saudi-backed tour wants to attract golf’s biggest names with guaranteed money and stage tournaments worldwide in 15 to 18 cities.

Will the Shark-led tour have enough bite to take on the golf establishment? Considering the PGA Tour just signed a lucrative television deal last season, commissioner Jay Monaghan is out to protect the Tour’s brand, threatening any player who jumps to the new tour with a lifetime ban from the PGA. The tour is also considering worldwide tournaments of its own and guaranteed money for participants. What’s next, red, white and blue golf balls?

Who knows how this will turn out, but it might be more fun to watch than a Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson match.

It’s about to get ugly in the NFL

First, let me begin my explaining the emails Jon Gruden sent out, while working for ESPN as a broadcaster, were disgusting. And that’s putting it mildly, but this is a family newsletter. The contents of those emails were leaked earlier this fall. They were found, while the NFL was investigating the Washington Football Team.

Those emails, eventually led to the resignation (firing?) of the former Super Bowl-winning coach, who was in the fourth-year of a 10-year multi-million dollar as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Gruden is now suing the NFL, alleging the NFL leaked the emails and that he was targeted by the league. He claims others have sent out nasty emails but that the NFL allegedly leaked just his. Gruden is suing the league for millions, claiming his reputation has been soiled and that he won’t be able to get another job in the NFL or in the broadcast industry.

My hunch is, the NFL and Gruden will come to some mutual settlement that will involve millions of dollars. I could be wrong about this, but why would the league want to air its dirty laundry? And make no mistake, the nation’s most popular sports league has more dirty laundry than your corner laundry mat. It is becoming obvious that Gruden is prepared to invoke a scorched earth policy, unless the NFL hands over some big bucks.

Well that is it for today. I hope you have a tremendous week, and thank you for your support.

SPORTSCASTER DAN