Comments by Merv
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Posted on June 29 at 9:27 a.m.
I don't buy the "market value" thing. Even if, as Hamilton says, today's coach has "a vast number of responsibilities" -- like (gasp!) a Blackberry and cell phone.
(1) From a business perspective, college athletics is essentially a monopoly (aka NCAA). And besides that, UT has little competition for the entertainment dollar within several hundred miles.
(2) Coaches, their agents, and ADs all focus on revenues. That's because college athletics does not have to pay for the employees who actually perform (the athletes), or for facilities (land, etc). And despite that, the owner (the University) is still pleased with zero profits. ... There is no comparison with a real business. The athletic dept brings in revenue (which is not that tough) and then spends it all. Not a bad gig.
(3) Even focusing on revenues, it is difficult to say that Phil Fulmer is somehow responsible for UT's football revenues. Do we think another coach would have no revenue? ... At least with Bruce Pearl, there is a decent before/after comparison, so that he can say he's responsible for the increase in basketball revenues.
(4) For football and basketball coaches, there is a one-way ratchet. With a good year, you get a high-price long-term contract. With a bad year, there is no downward adjustment. Helluva deal.
(5) The SEC is a good conference. But as a group the coaches win half of their conference games (by definition), so the average coach is 4-4. Then play 4 other games against cream-puffs, and the average coach is 8-4 without breaking a sweat. ... Yes, I know, UT plays a strong non-conference game each year. Which is admirable.
I'm just sayin' ...
Posted on May 6 at 1:41 p.m.
If the idea is to replace Ramar, then he needs to change Bobby to Bob. So we'll have another palindrome.
Posted on May 3 at 11:02 a.m.
If it happened to Johnny, it can happen to Duke and Ramar ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAu6yy...
On Crews and Ramar Smith dismissed; violation of substance abuse policy and academics were factors
Posted on April 30 at 9:46 p.m.
It appears that this man is an alcholic. I agree with some of rllipscomb's comments, if he's saying that alcholism is an illness and that it's more productive to encourage a fellow to overcome his illness rather than to be judgmental about it.
But when someone repeatedly chooses to mix alcohol and autos, it's very hard to be sympathetic. I agree with LadyVolsEighTimes that everyone's lucky that no one has been killed.
Posted on April 30 at 10:09 a.m.
TommyJack 9:54 says it all: "NOT INTERESTED in pro potential for our QB's. College potential is the issue. If they turn out (in college) to be 'only' as good as Tee or Heath, I can live with it."
Posted on April 21 at 1:57 p.m.
This is a young man with lots of opportunities, and he's had to endure a barrage of media pressure. It's probably best to wait to see what he does on Wednesday. ...
http://mvn.com/ncaa-mississippistate/...
Posted on March 30 at 10:25 a.m.
Pay the man. ... He's a great representative for UT. He runs an honest program, he wins games, and he's popular with students and fans. ... Pay the man.
On Pearl anticipates staying at Tennessee, despite speculation
Posted on February 22 at 10:46 a.m.
(1) There are two issues. One is on-field performance of UT's football team. Is PCF really earning the big bucks that he is getting? ...
(2) Today PCF addresses the second issue, which is off-the-field antics. He says all athletes are kids who must grow up, that he's great at helping kids grow up, and that he's a really decent guy himself. That is interesting, but it doesn't really explain why the football Vols act with so much less maturity than other students at UT, or students at thousands of other colleges. ...
(3) With all the advantages that athletes get, you'd figure they'd behave better than the average student. Not worse.
Posted on February 8 at 9:54 a.m.
It'd be good if our crack N-S staff would do a piece explaining why women athletes have more knee problems than men.
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Posted on July 6 at 10 a.m.
Two interesting things about CPF contract --
(1) With automatic agreed-upon performance-based raises in the future, there should NEVER be any reason for UT to re-negotiate another contract with CPF.
(2) Winning 8 regular season games is not a high hurdle. Last year 6 SEC teams did it. And there'd have been others, if they could have avoided upsets against weaker non-conference programs.
On Messages in Fulmer's new deal