A small thread about the comically corrupt college football system. (1/?) #ClemsonVsOhioState #Alabama #NotreDame #NCAAF

Twice yesterday I heard announcers mention players who were fathers. One player is the father of 2-year old twins. I couldn't help but think of the sick, twisted fact that NCAA rules prevent schools from paying him a salary that would allow them to provide those kids. (2/?)
I don't know the individual circumstances of the players metioned. Maybe those kids have (presumably young) mothers who are able to work full-time jobs that provide for those kids. Maybe the kids have grandparents comfortable enough to provide the essentials to them. (3/?)
And some small percentage of those kids will, in a couple years have a dad playing in the NFL. If dad lasts longer than 2 or 3 seasons, they should be set. But the vast majority of them will not. (4/?)
The primary justification for this rule is that if we let colleges pay kids then it would allow a small set of rich schools to dominate the sport, the way the Ivy League schools dominated it in the early decades of the sport. (5/?)
Seriously-look it up. Princeton has 26 national championships, last one in 1935. Yale has 18, last one in 1927. (6/?)
The current way we choose a national champion is thru a 4 team playoff. This system has been in place for seven years. The teams who made the field this year are:
1. Alabama. They have made it 6 years out of 7.
2. Clemson. They have made it 6 years out of 7.
(7/?)
3. Ohio State. They have made is four years out of seven. (Won once-with a shot at number 2 next week.)
4. Notre Dame. They have made it twice out of seven years but never won a game. In fact, they got blown out both times they were picked. But that's okay. (8/?)
They didn't actually deserve to be picked either time they went. They were picked because they have a large national TV audience who have been rooting for them back when they were good under the old corrupt system of picking national champions. (9/?)
Seriously, look it up. Notre Dame has 13 total championships, but only one since the Ford Administration.
(10/?)
There are 130 schools that compete for this championship. But 18 of the 28 selections have gone to just four schools. (Oklahoma has been chosen four times.) For six consecutive years, the field has consisted of three of these four schools and one special guest. (11/13)
So whatever reason we perpetuate this system of not paying athletes who play a sport that takes in over $800M just in TV rights, it is not fairness. This is as rigged a system as the bad old days when you could down to the neighborhood speakeasy and hire a couple pros. (12/13)
It's just a lot more sanctimonious and a lot less entertaining.

(13/13)
https://t.co/yEsq8nI5JU

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Over 70 former professional rugby players are preparing for legal action against the sport’s governing bodies according to this report.

The group litigation seems to be in its early stages, but World Rugby & Unions will be starting to get twitchy.

THREAD on the key issues 👇🏼


1) Duty of care

Do the governing bodies (World Rugby, RFU, WRU etc) owe players a duty of care in respect of their health and safety? The answer is almost certainly yes (see for example Watson v BBBoC).

2) Breach of duty

Have the governing bodies breached this duty? This is the first of the major hurdles for any litigation.

The question is essentially whether they acted reasonably in the circumstances.

Did they know about the dangers of concussion and fail to act?

Or should they have done more to discover the dangers of concussion but failed to do so?

The NFL case was based on the fact that the NFL knew of the dangers and covered them up. I’d suggest that’s unlikely here. However, it may be that WR/Unions should have done more sooner.

Much will depend upon the state of medical/scientific understanding of concussion at the relevant times.

For example, in the early 80s it may be that there was no indication that concussion might cause long-term complications but, by the early 2000s, there was.
I don't think people understand the vital difference between a well-rehearsed (and physical) team vs a collection of individuals with no real understanding - new players, makeshift centre-backs, other players out of position. Make do an mend when missing a ton of quality = v.hard


Add fatigue,with less option to rotate, and big effort in 3 away games in previous 9 days. Team lacks height and heft without VvD, Matip, Fabinho, Gomez. Team lacks pace and goals without Jota, Mané. Lacks pace at back without VvD and Gomez. No senior keeper undermines confidence

Team has been disrupted constantly this ssn. Rarely below 6 injuries, often = 10. Thiago a real bonus after months out, but the proper team is not around him. Even Gini looked knackered yesterday. 5th/6th-choice strikers and centre-backs will always be a big drop from 1st choices

Last night was a bit grim, and Brighton were excellent. But it was a strong XI for them, in terms of usual players and in terms of physicality. LFC full of skilful slower little guys right now - lacking the skilful bodyguards and pace. Kabak should help, but he's young and new

You can read Mentality Monsters or Perched for how much I talk about the unity of a team, the practiced understanding from years of intense training together, knowing each others runs and movements. Right now it's a team of semi-strangers and stand-ins.

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Great article from @AsheSchow. I lived thru the 'Satanic Panic' of the 1980's/early 1990's asking myself "Has eveyrbody lost their GODDAMN MINDS?!"


The 3 big things that made the 1980's/early 1990's surreal for me.

1) Satanic Panic - satanism in the day cares ahhhh!

2) "Repressed memory" syndrome

3) Facilitated Communication [FC]

All 3 led to massive abuse.

"Therapists" -and I use the term to describe these quacks loosely - would hypnotize people & convince they they were 'reliving' past memories of Mom & Dad killing babies in Satanic rituals in the basement while they were growing up.

Other 'therapists' would badger kids until they invented stories about watching alligators eat babies dropped into a lake from a hot air balloon. Kids would deny anything happened for hours until the therapist 'broke through' and 'found' the 'truth'.

FC was a movement that started with the claim severely handicapped individuals were able to 'type' legible sentences & communicate if a 'helper' guided their hands over a keyboard.