Change We Can Belive In …….. Uh , Uh !

Change We Can Belive In …….. Uh , Uh !

With Barack Obama , Joe Biden having defeated Senator John McCain (R-Az) and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin in the Presidential elections of 2008 ___ we were force fed the rhetoric of …… ” change we can believe in ” . Some two and half years later and let’s just say it’s simply been business as usual . Unemployment is at an all time high and the country’s economy is now in a tailspin that neither political party has an idea how to deal with the problems at large . Suffice to say, the lunatics are still running the asylum and there’s not much that the electorate are able to do about it ! .

==================================================================================

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

=================================================================================

Slideshow for your perusal.

Long time coming but somehow the NCAA under its new president Mark Emmert would like to bring about change within the collegiate athletics landscape . One of the changes Emmert would like to see and initiate is where all college programs would have to meet an academic eligibility criteria as it relates to postseason play . The bench-form requirement being proposed is the APR (Academic Progress Rate) of 930 measuring how well teams keep players in school , their overall graduation rate and not merely failing to fulfill their four years . After-all isn’t a scholarship as such a promissory and contractual agreement of which an athlete is being asked to make an obligation to that institution covering those four years ? Somehow with the expense involved the driving force as always for all of the parties concerned isn’t about education at all but simply about dollars and cents ! Both sides profit greatly from this all and in some cases where an athlete tends to contravene the rules it is the college that tends to get punished with impunity . Such has been the case with Jim Tressel and Ohio State . And there as we know both the school , athletes and the coach himself has profited financially to measures that we have yet to really quantify . And anyone who believes that the punishment to meted out by the NCAA will end up acting as a deterrent to the schools nationwide are sadly mistaken .

Inasmuch as Mark Emmert would like to bring about these changes , I do believe that he faces an uphill battle in trying to initiate those proposals. Granted , after meeting with the AD’s , school presidents , coaches and a number of professors of education to gauge their insight on those measures. In the proposal if agreed upon in principal by the board of governors and schools in general the initiative would be phased amongst the schools. However , at the D1 level they would take effect right away with schools being notified formally of the introduction. Education Secretary Arne Duncan , a former athlete himself , stated that he’d like to see all schools entering postseason play at the D1 level meet a requirement of having graduated not less than 45% of their student athlete body from the previous year in order to meet eligibility the criteria he would like to see. Frowned upon by a number of coaches , university presidents as well as boosters up and down the country , this only further indicates how corrupt and the amount of collusion there is going on within collegiate athletics at the highest level . It has been money that has driven the desire of not higher academia but all parties involved including the broadcasters covering collegiate athletics .

If one had worked under the premise that Arne Duncan’s initiative had been put in place by the NCAA then more than 56% of the schools participating in the 2010 Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament would not have made it . And within the BCS System and lower tiered bowls that statistic would have been far higher at 62% of all teams making the postseason. I am not so sure that this is a figure that inside the NCAA or anyone for that matter within collegiate athletics would at all be satisfied with ! But therein lies the caveat of the mess created not just by college athletics governing body but the whole cabal within this entire landscape . This is a sad indictment of what we know to be wrong collegiate sports and the very fact that university presidents , athletics directors and even the coaches themselves are so averse to any real change that would somehow lessen the financial windfalls of the schools .

Somehow , after reading where ESPN would now align itself in a business deal with the University of Texas in co-owning Longhorns Sports Network a new broadcast outlet that would cover all of the college programs’ athletics activities in a deal that’s said to be worth as much as $3 billion to the school over the next two decades in revenues . With that sort of financial clout at the school’s disposal it is now becoming increasingly clear the school will hold sway over all of its rivals . At the same time does anyone now view this as a conflict of interest on the part of ESPN ? How will the sports program provider be able to show any type of impartiality when it comes to the coverage any sporting event that Longhorns (University of Texas) is said to be involved . Can you imagine a football game that is being covered by the outlet this season ? I sure as hell can’t see there being any form of impartiality being shown in such a case ! And for Mack Brown when he grants that initial interview there’s no doubt that his first port of call will be to go straight the school’s own in-house broadcast provider .

I doubt that over the past five years in the NFL there has been as prolific a wide receiver in the league as the Houston Texans’ wide receiver Andre Johnson . The player’s stats over the course of his career speaks for itself and last year for the Texans he was perhaps the primary reason for watching the team beyond the talents of running back Arian Foster and Steve Slaton .

To see the Houston Texans repeatedly underachieve season in , season out has become an exercise in abject futility. Gary Kubiak and his coaching staff have reached the end of their tether but yet somehow for some unknown reason the team’s owner Bob McNair has seen fit to retain the coach . Inconsistency has been the underlying tone of this organization as could be seen last season over the course of their schedule .

Matt Schaub may well be a proficient quarterback the failings of this team has been magnified by his inability to lead it with any great authority . One could surmise that much of this comes down to poor coaching by Kubiak and his staff who have let down the fans in their expectations of the organization.

Beyond the moves made by the organization in the off-season and their draft choices I am not so sure that they are now heading in the right direction ! The AFC South goes through the Indianapolis Colts and about the only way things fall apart under which the premise that the Texans are in with a chance of usurping Peyton Mannging and his teammates put up the white flag of surrender. Within the division I certainly cannot see the Jacksonville Jaguars , or Tennessee Titans bearing down on the Indianapolis Colts, either ! There are things one sees in a team that would indicate that what on appearance looks great , isn’t what it first appears to be. And the guise of the Jaguars , Texans and Titans certainly fit that bill.

Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, left, talks with cornerback Johnathan Joseph (24) during NFL football training camp, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, in Houston. AP Photo/David J. Phillip …..

If Gary Kubiak is unable to have the Houston Texans in their current guise playing at a consistently high level over the course of this season and at least gain a playoff berth , then it is my believe that the coach will be sent packing by team owner Bob McNair .

==================================================================================================

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

8

By clicking on the frames shown you can view that picture in its original formatted size.
==================================================================================================

If the proposals being discussed by NCAA President Mark Emmert are enacted do you believe that it will be of great benefit to college sports overall ? Or do you feel that somehow the educational establishment will be able to circumvent any initiative that comes into being ? And what thoughts if any do you have on the upcoming season for the Houston Texans ? Do you feel that the talents of both Arian Foster , Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson are being wasted on this Texans’ team ? Please leave a comment as to your thoughts on the points raised within this piece and as always thanks for the continued support as it is greatly appreciated !

Alan aka tophatal ……… https://tophatal.wordpress.com

Contact tophatal rapptu@gmail.com or via

Facebook http://facebook.com/tophata2

Twitter http://twitter.com/tophatal

Picture and slide show details below .

———————————————————————————————————————————

(1) NCAA President Mark Emmert address the media during a press conference before the second round of the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at the Verizon Center on March 17, 2011 in Washington, DC. Getty Images North America / Nick Laham ……….

(2) Education Arne Duncan who has proposed changes in the criteria concerning eligibility for collegiate athletics’ postseason play . The response has been muted from across the academic landscape , in large part because the schools oppose the changes being suggested by the education secretary . AP Photo / Paul Malcolm ……

(3) Longhrorns men’s AD Deloss Dodds , left, is seen here with NFF President Steve Hatchell (center )and Mack Brown (right) . Both Dodds and Brown in conjunction with the university’s board of regents are thought to be the driving force behind the $3 billion deal wherein the university and cable broadcast outlet ESPN are joint owners in a business venture that gives the program provider proprietary rights in the the broadcast programming content of the University of Texas’ athletics program . Courtesy of NFF ( National Football Foundation ).

(4) Houston Texans quarterback Matt Leinart (11) joins teammates Kevin Walter (83), Matt Schaub (8) and T.J. Yates during NFL football training camp Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, in Houston. Leinart was allowed to practice with the team for the first time after the collective bargaining agreement was ratified Thursday afternoon. AP Photo/David J. Phillip ….

(5) Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak, left, talks with cornerback Johnathan Joseph (24) during NFL football training camp, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, in Houston. AP Photo/David J. Phillip ……

(6) Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson wraps a towel over his head as he wears a bandage on left index finger during NFL football training camp, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011, in Houston. Johnson did not practice with team after dislocating his finger during Tuesday’s practice. AP Photo/David J. Phillip ………..

(7) Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) stretches with teammates during NFL football training camp Thursday, Aug. 4, 2011, in Houston. Foster was allowed to practice with the team for the first time after the collective bargaining agreement was ratified Thursday afternoon. AP Photo/David J. Phillip …

(8) Houston Texans running back Steve Slaton (20) carries the ball during an NFL football training camp practice Friday, Aug. 5, 2011, in Houston. AP Photo/David J. Phillip ….

——————————————————————————————————————————————-

NFL news

Houston Texans news

Houston Texans draft history

Houston Texans preseason schedule 2011

Houston Texans regular season schedule 2011

Houston Texans roster

Houston Rockets team stats 2010 regular season