Hey guys new member here. I'll be stopping by from time to time (especially during football season) to chat with you guys about the season. Starting off though, what do you think about the Neuhisal (sp?). IMO, this should be it for him in coaching college sports.
Welcome aboard. It's slow right now for football talk, but things will pick up in July. It's still baseball season here.
First, welcome, BamaMatt. It seems like this board has exploded with new members in the past two weeks. That bodes well for football season. Second, I think the Neuheisel issue is a bit ridiculous. I understand the NCAA's position about gambling, but I also believe they want to have it both ways. Office pools for the NCAA basketball tournament are commonplace, and the NCAA knows this. They do not attempt to stop it, nor could they. In fact, they profit from such pools as fan interest and, as a result, television viewership is increased due to such pools -- due to "gambling." Now, Neuheisel did not just put down $5 on an office pool, but $5000 to a guy making over $1,000,000 per year is about the same as $20 to a guy making $50,000. Like Jordan and his gambling amounts, he lives in a different world than most. He did not bet on an individual game; he did not bet on or against his school; he did not bet on football; he did not bet on or against his football team. He merely did what thousands -- probably millions -- of people do each year. If the NCAA believes he should be fired, Myles Brand and company should look a little closer at themselves. Unless the NCAA is willing to admit to the benefits it receives from gambling on college sports, Neuheisel should remain in his position.
Welcome to the board. When football season finally makes its way around to us, the board will be a lot more active. Though with the CWS coming up, there has been a decent amount of activity lately. I have mixed feelings about the Neuheisel situation. On one hand, its against the rules and is grounds for dismissal. Period. Nothing has to be justified. He committed a violation. However, at the same time, he had no influence on the outcome of the tournament and was not involved in any way with the players or coaches at Maryland. Hell, I bet on Maryland, too, and chances are, it was in the same manner he did, in that it was with a group of friends. On top of that, he's a good coach. I would think it would be hard to fire a coach with a 33-15 record over his first four years, and what looks to be a promising squad this year. Reggie Williams has all-star written all over him, and part of that is because of Neuheisel. Its a tough situation for them.
The Neuheisel situation, IMO is no big deal. A little bit of juice on a game at a friend's house is nothing that anyone should lose his job over. The NCAA needs to stop somewhere, fer chrissakes.
