THIS IS REALLY GOOD. You’ll see, even though it is “anonymous”, it’s still not 100% accurate… but it’s pretty good. Coaches will still be self-serving and self protective even when being anonymous. It’s as close as I’ve seen to the “truth” though.
By Dana O’Neil ESPN.com
The image of college basketball has taken a beating in recent years, with rumors, murmurs and innuendo about cheating spreading like wildfire. Cynics believe no one is trying to follow the NCAA rulebook and that the game has fallen victim to the begging hands of agents, runners and hangers-on looking to collect on the next NBA star.
Is it that bad? What are the real problems? And is the NCAA doing enough to fix those problems?
To get the answers, ESPN.com went to the sources. During the EYBL Peach Jam last week, we interviewed 20 high-profile head coaches, representing each of the six power conferences. With the promise of full anonymity, we asked them to tell the truth about their sport.
And they did.
What is your least favorite part of summer recruiting?
No one likes the constant travel, the bad basketball and the emphasis on individual skills instead of team play.
Coaches travel everywhere to watch high school kids in July, but can’t keep an eye on their own.
But of the coaches surveyed, many — eight of the 20 — cited the time away from campus and their own players as the biggest problem with the summertime.
“I have my team over for a barbecue before I leave in July,” one coach said. “Little do they know it’s a farewell, not a welcome barbecue.”
“You walk into a living room and promise a mother that you’ll be there for her son,” said another. “And as soon as they get on campus, you’re gone.”
“They’re all on campus and I’m on the road,” added another. “If they do something stupid, I’m going to get fired — but I can’t be there to see what they’re doing.”
Some other popular grievances:
“What don’t I like? All of it. I don’t think there should be summer recruiting, period. They want to clean it up? Get rid of it.”
“I’ll tell you another problem — 70 percent of the kids we’re sitting here watching should be in summer school. They shouldn’t be here.”
“What don’t I like about summer? Everything. The babysitting, the ass-kissing. Does that cover it?”
Continue Reading…
Posted 1 month, 1 week ago at 11:54 AM. Add a comment
from:
Brigitte Yuille, provided by
As the madness of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons come to an end, the Women’s National Basketball Association prepares for a winning season – but with a little less fanfare. The WNBA, which is 13 years young, has steadily gained popularity over the years, but if you think the women are making close to as much as the men, think again. The disparity is alarming, but things are changing.
In Pictures: Top 5 Most Hair-Raising Contracts in sports.
Rookies in the WNBA get paid a minimum $35,190. Shocked? Well consider this, the maximum WNBA salary for veteran players in 2010 is $101,000. Quite shy of the massive paydays and endorsement deals of their male counterparts. In fact, the average NBA player makes over $5 million.
Here’s a look at some of the top paydays of the most recognizable WNBA players.
- Marion Jones
As an accomplished athlete, Marion Jones is sure to draw interest in the WNBA. The Olympic sprinter has joined the Tulsa Shock in Oklahoma as its newest point guard. Jones, once considered the fastest woman, in the world had admitted to using steroids for the 2000 Olympics. She had to return all five Olympic medals and spent six months behind bars for the incident and involvement in a check-fraud scam. Jones has signed a one-year contract with the Tulsa team receiving the league’s minimum of $35,000. (Increased popularity leads to increased salaries, but will the WNBA become a fan favorite? Learn more in The “Next Big Thing” In Pro Sports.)
- Lisa Leslie
WNBA veteran Lisa Leslie had been considered the most marketable and most dominant player in the league. She retired at the end of the 2009 WNBA season to be a mom and pursue other interests. The trailblazer for female basketball players has been in the league since its opening season and was the leader of points and rebounds for the L.A. Sparks in California. According to the AP in 2006, Leslie was making the maximum salary in the NBA at $91,000.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist took advantage of her notoriety and dabbled in other careers. She signed a contract with Wilhelmina modeling agency, has worked as an actress and has been in pursuit of a broadcast career. (Learn more about the financial implications of the Olympics. Read Olympic Economics: Boom Or Doom?)
- Candace Parker
Candace Parker was the number one overall pick in 2008 which landed her playing alongside Lisa Leslie for the L.A. Sparks. She stands to earn more than any female player in the WNBA history and make as much if not more than any male basketball player. Her current endorsements with Adidas and Gatorade are estimated to be worth approximately $3 million. Although such contracts are the norm for NBA superstars, they are less frequent in the womens’ league.
- Sheryl Swoopes
Often called the “female Michael Jordan,” veteran WNBA player Sheryl Swoops made slightly less than the $99,500 salary cap right before she left the Seattle Storm in Washington. However, rosters were cut last year to free up money in order for the teams to stay within their salary caps and create parity among the players. This Olympic gold medalist was awarded an endorsement deal with Nike, who created the “Air Swoopes” shoe.
According to the Seattle Times, the Seattle Storm’s coach needed to stay within a cap of $803,000 resulting in the valuable athlete being released from her contract.
The Future of the WNBA
The Great Recession has challenged the WNBA by disrupting audience attendance, revenue and owners’ financial interest. The WNBA is attempting to maintain its viability by discovering new sources of income, such as its eight-year TV arrangement with ABC/ESPN.
Meanwhile, WNBA players continue to head overseas to collect larger paychecks in places such as Poland, Israel and Turkey during their off-season.
Still feeling uninformed? Check out last week’s business news highlights in Water Cooler Finance: Zombies File Taxes, Dead Bills Rise Again.
Original story - Top WNBA Salaries: How Do They Stack Up?
Posted 5 months ago at 11:50 AM. 2 comments
Quick links for your daily check in on the Men’s Tournament
The Updated Bracket: BRACKET
Ranking the field of 16: RANKING THE SWEET 16
Tournament Results at a Glance: TOURNAMENT GLANCE
NIT & CBI Results: NIT & CBI
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago at 3:13 PM. Add a comment
From Associated Press
Players on teams headed to the NCAA women’s tournament are graduating at a higher rate than those in the men’s field, a study released Tuesday showed.
An annual report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida also found that the graduation gap between white and black players is smaller among women than men.
There were 19 women’s teams that had a 100 percent graduation rate compared to six men’s teams. And 51 women’s teams graduated at least 70 percent of their players compared to 29 men’s teams.
Richard Lapchick, director of the institute, said overall graduation rates for men and women have continued to increase at a similar pace, so the disparity is not that alarming.
“For me, it’s not as worrying as the gap between black and white,” Lapchick said. “The gap between black and white, for me, is a continuation of a historical pattern that dates back to segregation when everybody was not afforded the same opportunities. In this case, women have turned the tables on past inequality and are getting recognized.”
NCAA spokesman Chuck Wynne said the collegiate sports governing body was “extremely proud” of the increasing graduation rates for women but did not address specifics about the gender or racial gaps.
“From baseline to baseline, our game continues to get better even as our student-athletes continue to excel academically,” Wynne said in a statement. “It’s a tribute to our student-athletes and coaches who work so hard to make it happen.”
Looking at just the women’s tournament, the report found that 50 teams graduated at least 70 percent of their white players, but only 40 teams graduated that same percentage of African American players. That makes for a 14 percent gap; the men had a 48 percent disparity in the same category.
Lapchick said the pull of the NBA and international men’s basketball leagues have put the emphasis on playing professionally and have taken the focus away from education.
“There’s that belief that so many men have had since they were boys that they would play in the NBA, Europe or somewhere else professionally,” he said. “There is a culture in men’s sports that focuses on playing professionally. The women’s game has historically had more emphasis on education” because going pro was less of an option.
Jarrod Chin, director of violence prevention and diversity at Northeastern University’s Sport in Society, said the gender gap is a social issue that goes beyond athletics.
“The educational gender gap has been increasing not only in sports, but overall,” Chin said. “We tend to think of women as more book smart, so we value education more with them. Men, unfortunately, we value athleticism more. So we don’t place as much emphasis on education.”
The report measures six-year graduation rates for the freshman classes that entered college from the 1999-2000 through the 2002-03 school years. The report relies on information provided by the NCAA and not federal graduation rates, which don’t account for transfer students.
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago at 6:23 PM. Add a comment
