College Sports Fans Beware the Nefarious Influence of the Recruiting-Industrial Complex

July 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment

It’s really astounding when you think about it- in an era when almost no one is willing to pay for news content, recruiting services can survive and thrive off a subscription-based business model.

The year-round extensive coverage of college recruiting, at every step in the process, has destroyed media coverage of college sports. It’s not just the rise of the recruiting-industrial complex itself that ruined it. Recruiting sites flourished at the same time social media exploded and these two phenomena fed off of each other to concoct a toxic cocktail.

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Filed Under: Business, College Basketball, College Football, Duke Blue Devils, Entertainment/Media, Illinois Fighting Illini, Kentucky Wildcats, Michigan State Spartans, Michigan Wolverines, Nebraska Cornhuskers, News and Current Events, North Carolina Tar Heels, Northwestern Wildcats, Notre Dame, Ohio State Buckeyes, Purdue Boilermakers, Social Issues, Tech

2018 NBA Mock Draft 6-21-18 Final Edition

June 20, 2018 By 7 Comments

NBA-mock-Draft-sacramento kings

Welcome to our fourth version of our 2018 NBA Mock Draft. It’s the first edition post lottery. For more on a given prospect, click his name where hyper-linked, and that will take you to an in-depth feature piece on said player. Team needs were sometimes, but not always taken into account, and the order was derived from Tankathon, who we linked here.

You may not agree with the picks in this 2018 NBA mock draft, and yes, somebody will get left out, but you can air your grievances in the comments section. Just keep it all above board.

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Filed Under: Chicago Bulls, College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats, Lakers, Michigan State Spartans, NBA, NBA Draft, Purdue Boilermakers

John Calipari on Kentucky Wildcats NBA Draft Prospectus (Audio)

June 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment

isaiah-briscoe-john-calipari-kentucky-wildcats-basketball

For Kentucky Wildcats Coach John Calipari, the NBA Draft is like his Christmas and five graduation parties rolled into one. Like every draft during the Coach Cal era, the Kentucky Wildcats will have a very significant presence. Five Kentucky Wildcats are eligible for this NBA Draft: Hamidou Diallo, Wenyen Gabriel, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox and Jarred Vanderbilt.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Kentucky Wildcats, NBA, NBA Draft

EXCLUSIVE with Lou Henson, The Godfather of Modern Illini Athletics

June 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment

lou henson

Lou Henson is the El Pedrino, “The Godfather,” of modern University of Illinois athletics. If you’re a generation X or younger Illini, then you already know how Henson is the Illini legend of all legends in modern sports. Red Grange, Dick Butkus and George Halas all have their place in the pantheon, but Illinois is a basketball school, and both the home court, and the street which bisects the two revenue sport home venues bare his honorary namesake. 

At age 86, Henson was inducted into the second class of the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame Friday night, with a black tie gala at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Illinois Fighting Illini

Isaac Haas Accused of Knowingly Spreading STDs; Sued for $1M

April 11, 2018 By Leave a Comment

isaac haas

If you’ve ever had a detailed conversation with Isaac Haas, then you would agree that he is essentially the last person you would expect to be implicated in a story like this. The 7’2″ former Purdue Boilermakers center is being sued for $1,000,000 in civil court by his former sexual partner, Alyssa Chambers. The suit, filed yesterday, accuses Haas of lying about his having contracted sexually transmitted diseases, and therefore knowingly infecting others.

Isaac Haas has yet to comment publicly on these allegations. Purdue University and Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter declined the opportunity to comment publicly.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, Purdue Boilermakers

Loyola Chicago: ’63 Title Team Slaughtered Jim Crow Segregationists

March 26, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Loyola Chicago, now back in the Final Four for the first time since 1963, claimed the state of Illinois’ only national title during their last trip to college basketball’s biggest stage. They did it by outlasting Cincinnati, who were then at the height of their power, coming off back-to-back national championships, partially fueled by the greatness of Oscar Robertson.

However, this Ramblers team accomplished something that was much bigger than basketball.  They were civil rights pioneers. The 1962-63 Loyola basketball team broke the so-called “gentlemen’s agreement” amongst coaches in which no more than two black players would be on the floor at one time.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, News and Current Events, Politics, Social Issues

Time for Purdue Basketball to Finally Make Another Deep Tourney Run

March 21, 2018 By Leave a Comment

Grab your high octane energy drinks Purdue basketball fans, because you’ll have to stay up late if you want to see the Boilermakers clinch their first Elite 8 since 2000. The #2 seeded Boilers tip off at 9:57 EST in Boston on Friday against the #3 seed Texas Tech Red Raiders, meaning the game likely won’t end until after 12:30 a.m. the next day.

No, we have no clue what the sports television network-industrial complex is thinking with this ridiculous schedule either. All we can say is that Boston is known for tea parties and tea has a lot of caffeine, which will be needed to stay up till the end of this one.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Purdue Boilermakers

Student Loan Debt Rankings of the Sweet 16 Schools

March 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment

By Liz Richards

Hold on to your brackets, because we are now down to our Sweet 16 in The 2018 NCAA College Basketball Championship! Folks around the nation are glued to their screens watching some of the biggest wins, loses and upsets in college basketball history!

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Filed Under: Business, College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Kentucky Wildcats

Michigan State Basketball, Tom Izzo Seriously Overrated Now

March 19, 2018 By Leave a Comment

You can retire the phrase “January, February, Izzo, April” now. With the Michigan State basketball program failing to survive even the first weekend of the past three NCAA Tournaments, you can retire that saying; at least for now. (Never mind that Michigan State basketball, under Izzo has a 3-6 record in April- that’s some first world problems right now)

It’s not hyperbole to say that yesterday’s UGLY march madness elimination loss to Syracuse in the round of 32 was the worst of Izzo’s career. It wasn’t just the fact that the contest was a brutally unentertaining rock fight, which the powers that be purposely extended as much as possible for television revenue purposes. Thus it further prolonged the Michigan State basketball fan’s horrendous torture that was watching the second half of this contest.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Michigan State Spartans

Man United = Kentucky, Real Madrid = Duke and the Rest of the UCL, Sweet 16 doppelgängers

March 19, 2018 By 1 Comment

real madrid isco

There are two athletic competitions in this world that captivate us unlike any other: college basketball’s NCAA Tournament, known as “March Madness,” and the UEFA Champions League. In late winter and early spring, sports fans all across the globe are transfixed by both competitions.

We root for our specific teams first and foremost, and then debate if we should support our primary rivals in our respective leagues/conferences as they take on the rest of the nation/Europe. Let’s say you’re a North Carolina/Liverpool supporter- do you show solidarity for the other ACC/English Premier League teams in the competition? It’s a debate with no right or wrong answer, exactly like the 16 pairings that we’ve made below. So have at it in the comments section. 

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Filed Under: Chelsea, College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Football/Soccer, Kentucky Wildcats, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

UMBC Retrievers Comment on Being the First #16 to beat #1 EVER!

March 17, 2018 By Leave a Comment

umbc retrievers

Congratulations to the UMBC Retrievers and everybody in #RetrieverNation.

You just became the first ever #16 seed to upset a #1 seed. You are the all time bracket buster of all bracket busters. You are the 1980 USA “miracle on ice” Olympic hockey team and the 5,000-1 long shot Leicester City 2015-16 Premier League champions all rolled into one.

Heading into this game tonight, #16 seeds were 0-135 all time against #1 seeds (the field began seeding in 1985), but the University of Maryland-Baltimore County got it done! They didn’t just pull off an upset win- they won by 20 (74-54)! They didn’t just beat any old number #1 seed, they beat the top overall seed in the entire 68 team field, the best team in the nation, the Virginia Cavalier ! The UMBC Retrievers beat the ACC regular season and conference tournament champions.

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Filed Under: College Basketball

Arizona’s Deandre Ayton Faces Ridicule En Route to March Madness

March 14, 2018 By Leave a Comment

deandre-ayton

During the PAC 12 tournament, Deandre Ayton walked into chants of “100,000” from the opposing student section. Sweating through the court, Ayton seemed to only be playing better despite the banter from the opposing fans. Knocking down free throws and swishing long bombs effortlessly across his 7’1″ frame. The “100,000” chants, represent the alleged amount paid to Deandre Ayton in exchange for bringing his talents to the University of Arizona.

A more lengthily investigation will surely be conducted by the NCAA, but as of now, allegations have drawn ridicule to students mentioned in the reports.

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Filed Under: Business, College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft
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