NCAA rules on talking to sports agents
A recent report was released declaring that most states seldom enforce laws on sports agents prematurely talking with and/or meeting with NCAA student-athletes. However, these NCAA regulations only apply to the athletes and the schools, not the agents. This means that one of two things needs to happen for the situation to be resolved. Either the agents should be fined and punished for violating the rules or the rules should be done away with completely. It’s not fair that the athletes get punished for talking to agents. They are just kids and, as we all know, kids aren’t the best at making their own decisions. These agents take advantage of the student-athletes’ ignorance of what’s happening and they never ever get in trouble for it. They get slapped on the wrist, but never have there been any licenses revoked or penalties enforced. Instead, the athletes are portrayed as the ones doing something wrong and the schools end up losing scholarships and getting banned from playing in certain games, among other things.
The real truth is that these states are afraid of penalizing agents. They don’t want to be responsible for all of these big-time agents losing their licenses because of the mess it would make. I think the decision to talk with agents should ultimately be up to the athletes and their parents. These are the people whose lives it will affect the most, so they should have the final say in what happens. And I still don’t see where talking with an agent while in college is that big of a deal. The agent is there to provide the athlete with options that are going to best suit them at the next level. The happier the athlete is, the happier the agent is and the more money both of them make. The NCAA are making these rules, and the only reason it’s an issue is because the NCAA says it is.
Albert Haynesworth fiasco
I’m so tired of hearing about the lazy excuse for a human being that is Albert Haynesworth. This guy has got to be one of the biggest wastes of space and money in the NFL. First of all, he is making way to much money for what he’s worth. The Redskins signed him to a seven-year, $100 million contract in 2009, which has to be the most boneheaded move that Daniel Snyder has ever made (and that’s saying something). Haynesworth doesn’t really have the statistics that deserves almost $14.3 million a year. The one thing he does well (as a result of his 350-pound build) is eat up blockers, which creates more opportunities for his teammates to make plays. But there’s no way in the world that he deserves the kind of money he’s making. Redskins’ head coach Mike Shanahan isn’t giving into Haynesworth’s antics, either. Shanahan has made it clear that if Haynesworth doesn’t participate in practice, he won’t play. He said that Haynesworth has gotten away with this in the past, but reiterated he won’t get away with it as long as he’s the head coach.
But Shanahan is right. It shouldn’t have taken Haynesworth four tries to pass a conditioning test (two, timed 300-yard shuttle runs) that kept him from participating in full practice for a few weeks. After his first couple tries, he claimed his knee was bothering him, but an MRI revealed that there was no structural damage. Then, reports came out that claimed Haynesworth is suffering from rhabdomyolysis, a muscular condition whose symptoms included weakened, stiff or aching muscles. This may be part of the reason for the laziness, but why wouldn’t Haynesworth have told the team about this before? I think the more appropriate reason he didn’t pass the test is because he is just flat out lazy. There’s no other way around it. I just hope all the Redskins fans out there enjoy watching their lazy, overweight lineman try and last for an entire defensive series.
Broncos’ Future Plans for Tebow
When Denver selected former Florida Gator Tim Tebow with the 25th pick in last April’s NFL draft, most people, including me, thought they did so with the intention of making him the franchise quarterback of the future. And because they drafted him so high, it made even more sense that he would be starting under center sooner rather than later. Well, someone must have forgotten to tell this to current Broncos’ starting quarterback, Kyle Orton. And judging from the one-year, $9 million contract extension the team just granted Orton, it looks as if Tebow won’t be trying his hand as the Broncos’ starting quarterback anytime in the near future. This has to make you wonder why the Broncos would take Tebow so high in the draft if they were just going to put him in Orton’s shadow. Obviously the organization has enough confidence in Orton to extend his contract and give him $5.5 million of guaranteed money. But what does this mean for Tebow’s future?
Orton is 29-19 as a starting quarterback, which is good for a guy who hasn’t quite settled in as a franchise quarterback. He has looked good so far this preseason and is showing coaches things he wasn’t capable of doing last year. But if you look at the big picture, you have to wonder if Orton is the guy who is going to win you a Super Bowl. Furthermore, you have to wonder if he is the guy you want grooming Tebow over the next few years. The most alarming aspect of this whole ordeal is that usually when a team drafts a quarterback this high and he isn’t going to be the immediate starter, they are planning for him to take over for a veteran nearing the end of his career. This is most definitely not the case for the Broncos. Orton is only 27 years old and is nowhere near the end of his career. So why Tebow, and why so high? The Broncos must see something in him that makes them believe he can fix his mechanical issues and become a solid NFL starting quarterback who does nothing but win. This is exactly what Tebow did in college, and it seems as if it’s just a matter of time until we find out if he can do it in the NFL.
Submitted by Steve Giles
