i'll have my official countdown to 1st pitch on my desktop really soon. we've got a title to defend holy sh!t it feels good to be able to say that again!
with all due respect to the football team, LSU baseball is just special (to me) in a way that LSU football just isn't. some of you guys feel that! not saying that one is better than the other because you can't really argue against a november evening in tiger stadium for a weekend series in april/may -- they're both perfect in my opinion -- but baseball is refreshing because it's the one major NCAA men's sport that hasn't been molested (much) by $$$$ and/or greed. sometimes i catch myself moping about because there isn't much coverage of the sport on ESPN (or the like,) but i realize that it is a good thing. with coverage comes the people who want to exploit the sport for profit, and i don't want to see that happen to college baseball. although i suppose it will one day.
One thing I like about baseball, is the fact that these kids really want to be in college and aren't forced to be. They have the option to go professional straight out of high school and aren't hamstrung by the NFL and NBA rules about eligibility to go pro. It's a sham that the NBA makes players go to college for one year and the NFL for four. This system of the pros using the colleges as a developmental league and the NCAA forcing these athletes into unpaid apprenticeships is just unfair. College scholarships without pay are not fair and just compensation unless the athletes really have an option to turn professional in their development. (It's slow on the board lately...Just throwing this out for thought.)
i don't know about all of that. a college degree (especially from a state's flagship uni) isn't something that everyone has the opportunity to pursue. plus, with all of the extra help and amenities offered to student-athletes (that super duper COX student athlete center thing for example,) i think that a college degree is more than a fair form of re-payment. however, i do find fault in the corporations that invest in college athletics for personal gain... ESPN, CFN, CBS, ABC etc. just because these corporations are making millions off of college athletics doesn't mean that the students need to be compensated. just think of all of the world-class scholars that ensure millions of dollars in grant money to their prospective universities, they're not being offered additional compensation for their efforts. no, i bet most of them are quite happy with their free education. i think that you should have to go to college for four years (or some other alternative) in order to be a professional athlete. that way when you're hurt, or if you pan out you're not just some liability. and pro sports are a different animal altogether. i think it's foolish how pro leagues try to make role models out of thugs and gang bangers. there are, believe it or not, some respectable pro athletes out there. there is no need to go after the riff-raff. and steroids should be fair game. maybe i feel this way because of my libertarian ideals, but i'll step off of the political soapbox for now. i just don't think that it would be fair to compensate college athletes. it wouldn't be fair to the professors of the school, it wouldn't be fair to the regular students, it just wouldn't be fair period. i understand the athletes bust their asses in practice and on the field, but last time i checked they enjoyed doing that. and you can't tell me that those athletes don't get special treatment of some form or another. with road games and practices, they miss a good bit of classwork. i personally know college athletes, and let me tell you, if i had all of my notes typed up for me like they do.... :hihi:
Waiting for bowl season to end. Then I need to take in a few bb games, before I settle into 3rd baseline at the Box. Definitely looking forward to it, but there are a few things to enjoy first...
