Jeff Jacobs: In canceling football, UConn and Edsall do the right and obvious thing. Well played.

[huskymedic]

Fair balanced opinion:


Alternate access link here<

 

[businesslawyer]

If this is what the players wanted I'm for it. I'm not making my employees go into the office. There is no reason unpaid athletes should be forced to increase their risks.

 

[Skiblets]

Man if Jacobs could ever write an article without mentioning coaching salaries he’d be so much more tolerable. It’s like instead of spell check he has a ‘did I include something about financials in this article’ check. Jeff. We get it. You think coaches are paid too much. TFC

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Prior to the last few weeks, I gave the decision makers in college football the moral equivalence of pay day lenders. I realize now that I was insulting pay day lenders with that comparison.

We are heading towards either a catastrophic disaster of a season, or no season at all. This did not have to happen. College football could have adjusted its schedules to make a season work much more safely, but the P5 leadership CHOSE NOT TO. They don't care about the athletes' safety, but they also don't care about the athletes' desire to play.

An extra year of eligibility is not going to help most of these kids. They get to be 18 to 22 once in their lives, and when that time is over, it is time to move on with their lives. How many kids actually come back for their redshirt senior year? Half? 2/3's at the most? How many are really going to return for a 6th year, when they will be 24 years old? Does the backup LG return for a 6th year? Probably not. They go get jobs and start relationships and enter the real world.

So blowing up a year of eligibility for these kids by going for a TV cash grab is even more reprehensible than just the safety issue. It is taking away a year of these kids playing a sport they love, all so a few university athletic administrators and presidents can try a reckless plan to bring in some extra cash that is almost certainly going to fail.

It didn't have to be this way. I think an 8 game or 10 game schedule with home and homes against 4 or 5 other geographically close teams would have been much safer and had a shot at success, and given the kids a chance to play. It is clear now that the athletic leadership in the P5 would rather the athletes get sick and die or not play at all than do what is right for the players.

 

[Exit 4]

Wow - all over the map here Nelson. I don’t see a substantial difference between the all conf schedules and your local- yocal schedule idea. Either way kids will be trying to operate in their university bubble and practice / play following the best practices for tracing (ahem making practice near impossible once you have a few suspected or confirmed cases).

I’m not so sure there are practical solutions for impractical times.

 

[CL82]

P

Man if Jacobs could ever write an article without mentioning coaching salaries he’d be so much more tolerable. It’s like instead of spell check he has a ‘did I include something about financials in this article’ check. Jeff. We get it. You think coaches are paid too much. TFC

And the unsubstantiated suggestions that Randy was somehow being disingenuous and self-serving were typically Jacobs.

 

[Exit 4]

Fair balanced opinion:


Alternate access link here<

Faint praise with a side of body slam. Kinda of a sad reflection the remnants of the news paper biz that every piece has to either sting like a face slap or tug hard at your heart.

 

[ZooCougar]

Good call. Football will be a train wreck this fall.

 

[Watchdog]

I used to really like Jacob's writing but for the last five to ten years (maybe I just didn't notice it in the distant past) there's always some bitterness, maybe envy, personified by cheap shots that he sometimes slyly, but often openly, sprinkles amongst the prose.

 

[Skiblets]

I used to really like Jacob's writing but for the last five to ten years (maybe I just didn't notice it in the distant past) there's always some bitterness, maybe envy, personified by cheap shots that he sometimes slyly, but often openly, sprinkles amongst the prose.

When he came back from his heart attack he wrote with more of an appreciation for life for a while. Then just fell back into his usual habits. It’s too bad. He used to be interesting but is just way too sly and just way too predictable

 

[Bongo Fury]

I hope the team will continue to practice and get better.

 

[BlueandOG]

Prior to the last few weeks, I gave the decision makers in college football the moral equivalence of pay day lenders. I realize now that I was insulting pay day lenders with that comparison.

We are heading towards either a catastrophic disaster of a season, or no season at all. This did not have to happen. College football could have adjusted its schedules to make a season work much more safely, but the P5 leadership CHOSE NOT TO. They don't care about the athletes' safety, but they also don't care about the athletes' desire to play.

An extra year of eligibility is not going to help most of these kids. They get to be 18 to 22 once in their lives, and when that time is over, it is time to move on with their lives. How many kids actually come back for their redshirt senior year? Half? 2/3's at the most? How many are really going to return for a 6th year, when they will be 24 years old? Does the backup LG return for a 6th year? Probably not. They go get jobs and start relationships and enter the real world.

So blowing up a year of eligibility for these kids by going for a TV cash grab is even more reprehensible than just the safety issue. It is taking away a year of these kids playing a sport they love, all so a few university athletic administrators and presidents can try a reckless plan to bring in some extra cash that is almost certainly going to fail.

It didn't have to be this way. I think an 8 game or 10 game schedule with home and homes against 4 or 5 other geographically close teams would have been much safer and had a shot at success, and given the kids a chance to play. It is clear now that the athletic leadership in the P5 would rather the athletes get sick and die or not play at all than do what is right for the players.

Nelson, I find myself pressing "like" after almost all of your posts.

 

[Huskygrad88]

Faint praise with a side of body slam. Kinda of a sad reflection the remnants of the news paper biz that every piece has to either sting like a face slap or tug hard at your heart.

I am surprised that more BYers are not fans of his. They have all essentially taken the same approach. Quickly stating “right call” and then writing much longer diatribes about how it was only because they had no other alternative, are just trying to sell a narrative, etc.

 

[Skiblets]

I am surprised that more BYers are not fans of his. They have all essentially taken the same approach. Quickly stating “right call” and then writing much longer diatribes about how it was only because they had no other alternative, are just trying to sell a narrative, etc.

The snark is just way too predictable and wholly unnecessary to the premise of his story..

 

[Palatine]

Edsall has been absent since he returned. Then he goes on TV and almost cries. That said...

The return of football has always bee more problematic than other sports. A large number of players are either morbidly obese or close. This is one of the warning signs for Covid, it qualifies as an unlying medical condition that can lead to complications putting a person at greater risk of death. Basketball players, soccer players, etc, do not carry as high a risk. Combine that with the near impossibility of creating a independent schedule for football and it's pretty easy to defend the decision.

 

[BlueDogs]

This is a horrendously bad decision and just about puts a fork in UConn football. Other G5’s are stepping up to fill holes and getting paydays and future home games. In a state with covid dropping daily, we just screwed the pooch so badly it goes down as another classic UConn self inflicted shot to the head. No way do I believe for a second kids don’t want to play and no way is this about anything other than saving a few dimes. The season will go off, and we will once again look like jokers.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

This is a horrendously bad decision and just about puts a fork in UConn football. Other G5’s are stepping up to fill holes and getting paydays and future home games. In a state with covid dropping daily, we just screwed the pooch so badly it goes down as another classic UConn self inflicted shot to the head. No way do I believe for a second kids don’t want to play and no way is this about anything other than saving a few dimes. The season will go off, and we will once again look like jokers.

All those G5's stepping up will be for nothing when the season gets canceled.

 

[mikeinmanila]

This is a horrendously bad decision and just about puts a fork in UConn football. Other G5’s are stepping up to fill holes and getting paydays and future home games. In a state with covid dropping daily, we just screwed the pooch so badly it goes down as another classic UConn self inflicted shot to the head. No way do I believe for a second kids don’t want to play and no way is this about anything other than saving a few dimes. The season will go off, and we will once again look like jokers.

The reports of the death of UConn football are greatly exaggerated. They got out in front of a bad situation. It was a good call.