JUST FOOTBALL

[dredwak]

i love justintv...my new laptop...and mcgee to hurd...

[dredwak]

all in all...except for last weeks aberration...not a bad camp and preseason for the Cowboys...looking forward to games that matter...

[cklaurence]

GOOD MORNING, SWITZERLAND!

Nice game last night, dred... for you.

[Emeritus]

It looks like the Cowboys proved that they have the best substitutes. Considering how important injuries become during the season, that's an important consideration.

[cklaurence]

I don't know why the Dolphins chose to grab Tyler Thigpen, or why they keep him in front of Pat White. I guess I don't know a lot about Parcells/Sporano's thoughts about coaching. I now have 9 days to be a nervous wreck until the first game of the real season...

[Emeritus]

ck, sometimes I think that you just like to worry. I'm hoping that my Texans do well, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. I've become more aware of my mortality and I'm determined to let nothing spoil my enjoyment of every day.

[cklaurence]

Worrying about football keeps me from worrying about my own mortality. I need diversions at my age.

[Emeritus]

Whatever works. I read or get involved in something that gets me outside of myself. I just make sure that it's nothing that spoils my day.

[cklaurence]

I read, I write, I work in politics, get lost in football--whatever it takes...

[Emeritus]

Whatever works. We all have personal pain of some sort to live with, so we need to get our attention off ourselves. Pain focuses attention on itself and it can warp our lives if we don't look outside ourselves

[cklaurence]

Unfortunately, living with arachnoiditis is not easy. I fight it every day of my life, so maybe that's why I throw myself into football and writing with such unbridled passion.

[Reecey]

??? I have to look that up.

[Reecey]

[tenn10]

by Emeritus » Fri Sep 03, 2010 4:14 pm

Whatever works. We all have personal pain of some sort to live with,...............



yeah and mine is that no a count Texan fan Reecey........he's trying to put his mojo on Peyton for the first game

[Reecey]

I'll give Peyton every inch of it I got too. Ride 'Em Cowboy!

[tenn10]

I knew that you always had a man crush on Peyton and that just proved it......sicko

[Emeritus]

Let's don't take this stuff seriously.

[dredwak]

GOOD MORNING, SWITZERLAND!

Nice game last night, dred... for you.

i am perfectly happy losing all the preseason games...my post was referring to the fundamentals of the game...blocking...tackling...running...mistake free is a plus...the Dolphins didnt look terrible...either...

[cklaurence]

GOOD MORNING, SWITZERLAND!

dred--I know you didn't mean any harm to the Dolphins when you were talking about your Cowboys, and yes, the Cowboys' execution looked good, with depth, Thursday night. The Dolphins looked a tad on the pathetic side. I don't care about losses in the preseason either; however, I like to see my team looking a lot better than it did. By the last game of the preseason, I expect to see the QB and his receivers looking like they belong together. Hartline is good--I do like that guy. Marshall, who I thought was way way way overpaid, not only misses too many (easy) catches, but he looks uncomfortable doing it. My hero, Ricky Williams, never gets close (or so it seems) to his teammates. He didn't make a fuss when Ronnie Brown came to the team as a rookie and was crowned first string (another disagreement between c.k. and the coaches, lol) like some players might. He doesn't ever get involved in on or off the field them, but damn! Ricky gets on that field and does whatever he can to get that ball down the field to the goal line. He isn't selfish--although, I think he should be--he just takes the ball and gets it done. Marshall comes to the team with all kinds of promises, then looks like crap on the field. I sure hope something changes between now and our season opener.

[Emeritus]

I think that it will take a few regular season games to get a handle on how our teams will do. The Texans open against the Colts, the Redskins and the Cowboys. That should give our fans some idea about our prospects.

[cklaurence]

Wow--that's quite a run. Yes, you definitely should know something after that.


Dolphins open AT Buffalo and then Minnesota. They don't see home until the third game, which is the JETS, followed by New England. Pretty tough, huh?

[Emeritus]

At least you have a better start than we do. The Dolphins will blow out the Bills, while we have to open against the Colts.

[dredwak]

you just cant judge what a team will do during preseason...i'll use the Lions and the Colts as good examples from the not too distant past...

[Emeritus]

I'm curious about how the profits of pro football teams compare to those of big-time football programs. I looked up the figures for the University of Texas, since it's the biggest school in Texas.

REVENUE 2008-2009 Season

Ticket sales
$55,394,209.00 40.01%
Student fees
$0.00 0%
Guarantees
$500,000.00 0.36%
Contributions
$37,291,370.00 26.93%
Compensation and benefits provided by a third party
$0.00 0%
Direct state or other government support
$0.00 0%
Direct institutional support
$0.00 0%
Indirect facilities and administrative support
$0.00 0%
NCAA/conference distributions including all tournament revenues
$14,325,151.00 10.35%
Broadcast, television, radio, and internet rights
$216,662.00 0.16%
Program sales, concession, novelty sales, and parking
$3,892,527.00 2.81%
Royalties, licensing, advertisements and sponsorships
$18,164,827.00 13.12%
Sports camp revenues
$4,523,133.00 3.27%
Endowment and investment income
$1,656,008.00 1.2%
Other
$2,495,262.00 1.8%

Subtotal operating revenue
$138,459,149.00

I don't know what their expenses were, but I do know that they aren't paying their players millions of dollars per season. I think that I'd rather own a college team.

[cklaurence]

Having worked for a college team (UM, if you recall), I know this: the profits from football (at least back then at UM) were used to keep the entire athletic department going. Sports, like swimming, golf, and such, that bring in nothing, still need funding. Football revenue is the mainstay of Athletic Departments.

[Emeritus]

That's some serious money!

[cklaurence]

Yes it is. Boggles the mind, Em. The stories I could tell you about my time with UM...

[Emeritus]

Sometimes I wonder if there is a disconnect between the universities and the football teams that are supposed to represent them. At Texas, the football program receives no money from the university and nothing from student fees. It raises it's own funds and sets it own budgets. The coaches make many times as much money as professors and the head coach makes millions of dollars per year. The players have to be active students and they have to make passing grades (they have a study hall of their own that you wouldn't believe), but most aren't there to get a degree.All who think that they have a chance in the draft come out early.

[cklaurence]

Things have changed a lot, because NCAA Rules now prohibit the players from getting treatment any different than the rest of the student population. UM graduates something like 90+% of their football players. When I was there they had study facilities right there in the Athletic Center Building in the offices with us. I don't know how they do it now, but they do.

[Emeritus]

It's the same at Texas. The academic center houses office space for two full-time academic counselors, four tutor rooms, numerous meeting rooms and a multi-purpose study hall facility that seats more than 150 student-athletes. It also features 36 individual computer workstations with Internet access. All of this just to keep the player eligible, because the faculty cuts them no slack. Of course the university encourages them to graduate - they lose return on their investment if the players come out early - but recognize that many of the students have no interest in a degree. To them, it's just the route to the NFL.