Thinking out loud…while wondering if Madonna can still dress you up in her love?
• The University of Hartford has made history.
• Less than two months from its' first NCAA Dance ticket – the Hawks have turned from Cinderella into cinders. Thursday, their near-sighted, tone-deaf and likely politically influenced Board of Regents voted to drop athletics from Division I to Division III.
• As reported earlier, the decision was thought to save the University up to $10 million per year. But the transition won't be complete until 2025 and won't begin until January of 2022. Current scholarships and coaches' salaries will be honored…so there won't be any savings there, at least not right away. And exit fees from existing contracts, including America East, too.
• The Board said they hope this move strengthens their academic offerings…and it might. But don't you need students to go to this school to do that? Enrollment has been dropping, 14% over the past five years. And this move won't exactly set their academic recruiting world on fire.
• Maybe there are too many DI programs across the country? Undoubtedly there are several in similar or worse financial shape than Hartford. But Hartford (and others) only have themselves to blame, thanks in part to the constantly rising cost of college tuition.
• Athletics, which for many is a lifeline academically, is a mere scapegoat here in a grossly mismanaged system, replete with a myopic vision for the future. Hartford has made history, and embarrassingly so.
• Coach John Gallagher was expected to return much of the team that lost to eventual national champ Baylor in the NCAA tourney opening round. Now, no new scholarships can be offered beginning in 2022.
• This is just the start. It's gutless, and it will happen elsewhere, because it's the 'easy' way out. And because stupid is as stupid does.
• Patriots draft takeaways: Pro Football Focus sez New England gets an A+ for their efforts, largely on the broad shoulders of Christian Barmore's second-round selection from Alabama as the top interior defender in the draft.
• And Mac Jones getting picked up at 15 wasn't bad, either. 3rd rounder Ronnie Perkins, even with a limited number of snaps at Oklahoma, could end up with value here if he sticks and gets into the rotation at defensive end.
• But for my money – there's still a glaring need at receiver. Perhaps then, 'ground and pound' then hound the TE's will be the modus operandi for 2021?
• Besides – we know the deal. True draft 'grades' can't be had until all the results are in. And the exams last at least a couple of seasons.
• Thanks, Jason McCourty, for that major PBU in Super Bowl LIII. We'll always have that.
• Ernie Adams has surely been the 'man behind the curtain' for the Patriots over the past 21 years. You know, like the mysterious Wizard of Oz, the man behind the curtain?
• Google it, if you're of an age where you have no clue what I'm talking about.
• Adams has been one guy who certainly hasn't had much attention paid his way, other than the odd, bemused kind – but he and BB have kept it that way on purpose. The relationship has worked well, and the friendship remains.
• And perhaps he just wants to get on with his life, outside of football?
• Don't read anything into his departure as BB's Director of Football Research, or whatever else he has been. Like a trusted friend.
• ICYMI…two other athletes with Rhody ties are newly signed NFL employees following the draft as free agents. East Greenwich and Syracuse punter Nolan Cooney signed with New Orleans, and Providence's Kenny Yeboah, a TE at Ole Miss, signed with the J-E-T-S.
• Hey, a guy's gotta work.
• Just so you know where we are culturally in this country…the NFL Draft's Opening Night outdrew the Oscars in the TV ratings by more than two million viewers this year and outdrew all but one game of last year's World Series.
• It was the second-highest rated First Day of the Draft, evah.
• Nah baseball, no problems here that I can see. But your championship just got whacked by – not a game, not even a practice – a televised meat market.
• When that meat market returns to playing games, they'll stay on Fox for this coming season on Thursday's…but starting in 2022 Amazon Prime takes over Thursday Night Football. Streamin' ain't goin' nowhere.
• Those cash registers jingling in the distance? Coming from Verizon, Comcast and every other internet provider as fans (will) rush to increase their home Wifi speeds.
• Most Popular Sports: Football, baseball, basketball, hockey. That's in the U.S. But among Gen Z (ages 6 to 24), it's football, basketball, soccer and boxing. An analytics firm dropped that bomb last week.
• Wonder if baseball saw it?
• Just so you can see how warped baseball views itself – Grand Poobah Rob Manfred's current price tag for an expansion team…is $2.2 billion. That's what he told an online discussion last week.
• That number doesn't include stadium costs, or salaries, or anything else associated with running a team. That's just for the right to own one. It's about 17 times more than Arizona and Tampa Bay paid out ($130 million) in 1998.
• Sure, valuation has increased. Inflation is present. The price might just be what the current market will bear. But you know – that price tag will be flushed onto those who want the game the most, the fans, in cities like Montreal, Nashville, Charlotte and Portland, OR where MLB is looking to expand.
• The Red Sox may be bashing the ball around at times themselves but make no mistake about it - the bullpen is still the blowpen.
• 19 earned runs over a three-game stretch earlier this week sez so…and that was before Garrett Whitlock's short-lived honeymoon abruptly ended Wednesday night against the Detroit Punching Bags…followed by nine more runs allowed Thursday.
• And the next out I personally see pitcher Matt Andriese get…will be the first one. Looks like a new punching bag to replace Matt Barnes, until the next one comes along.
• No wonder the Yankees soured on Adam Ottovino. And when did Barnes learn how to, um, actually pitch?
• At midweek, the Red Sox were barely a .500 team at Fenway. So, let's not delude ourselves into thinking this might last...like a few fan-boy scribes are wont to do.
• WYSIWYG. What you see…is what you get. And Friday, it was also the best record in baseball.
• Will Rhode Islanders make the trek from one end of the Blackstone Valley to the other to see Triple A baseball again?
• The Worcester Red Sox – and it pains me greatly to say "WooSox" – open Polar Park next week. From all appearances, it looks like a spectacular place to take in a game.
• But what does it say when the team sends out a press release nearly two weeks in advance of the opener, detailing parking information and instructions?
• Prepare for sticker shock? You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto?
• See, we were spoiled around here for a long, long time…not having to pay for parking in Pawtucket. It was something the late Ben Mondor just wouldn't have. But as we sadly know, Ben isn't here any longer.
• And neither is free parking. Welcome to Fenway West.
• Speaking of sticker shock – has anyone gone to a game for one of the pro teams lately…and actually paid full freight? $210 and up for Celtics' cheap seats. $233 for the Bruins. Even the lowly Detroit Tigers can fetch a price in the $80's at spaced-out Fenway…which seems like a bargain.
• Loge-level seats for the Celtics and Heat showdown this week…come in at more than $800. Each. Holy smokes – if you can get them, it's like making a mortgage payment. And what are you smoking?
• Supply, meet demand. Thank you, stimulus checks. I guess.
• The Revs are off to their best start in 10 years, at 2-0-1. In case you didn't know.
• Kinda like this idea – some teams are offering shots to fans at games. Buy a ticket, get a shot. The Mets and Yankees are giving FREE tickets if you get a shot. The NFL is planning a Super Bowl ticket giveaway if you get a shot.
• But if you need a free ticket – or a free beer like Bud Light and others are giving away – to get that vaccine, I'm wondering about your priorities.
• Priorities? Getting back as close to normal is certainly one of them. Getting "a shot and a beer" might be another. Stadiums are opening. Gillette Stadium looks as if it will be fully reopened – to capacity – on August 1.
• Undoubtedly, I'll be there. So where's my beer?
• Billions in revenue were lost with stadiums closed or limited in the past year. Yeah, the fans will be back. They have to be. But will they need proof-of-vaccination to get in?
• In some places, they will.
• Looks like the Dunkin Donuts Center will open as a sports venue again…rather than remain a mass vax site…in October as the 16th is when the AHL is scheduled to begin its' new 2021-22 season.
• Hang another banner in the Dunk rafters, too. In fact, the Providence Bruins will hang two of them – as they clinched their second straight AHL Atlantic Division flag this week (a first in franchise history) with a 6-3 win over Hartford.
• 2020 and 2021 successes will get representation, as they should, even in forgetful circumstances.
• Like death and taxes, Hendricken vs. LaSalle is an inevitability when it comes to high school football in Rhode Island. The two will battle again Saturday night for a state Super Bowl title after a regular season matchup was cancelled due to Covid concerns.
• How about a sports betting update? Surprise! The numbers continue to rise. The combined legal U.S. handle in March was a record, surpassing January's $4.3 billion. Eleven states were up by double-digit percentages, including Rhode Island at 13% (with $38.5 million wagered in March).
• New Jersey tops the list at a 16% increase, bringing in more than $859 million…in a month.
• The Boston Globe reported gambling is RI's third-largest source of revenue, so the RI House has reworked a 20-year deal with Bally's and IGT looking to keep jobs associated with the gaming industry in place and increasing. Smaht move.
• The legal betting handle for March Madness? $1.56 billion, according to the PlayUSA Network.
• My buddy "Big E" sez he was in the drug store the other day and overheard the pharmacist talking with an employee. "Why is that man standing against the wall?" he asked. The employee said he gave him a laxative because he couldn't find any cough syrup.
• The pharmacist said loud enough to hear, "You can't treat a cough with laxatives!" "Sure you can," the employee replied. "Look at him. He's too scared to cough now."
• "Whoever came up with that s*** needs to be fired," is what LeBron James said this week in reference to the NBA's "Play In" round of the playoffs.
• Hey LeBron, I'm with you. But I am getting a laugh over you and the Lakers potentially having to play in it, so thanks for that…even if NBA ratings were up 25% in April over March.
• Last year's playoffs on TV were down 37% from 2019, and while the coronavirus had a lot to do with that…the league has panicked, and simply fallen in line with others through gimmickry.
• MLB increased its' playoffs last season as you'll recall and has expanded playoffs on the table in the next round of collective bargaining with their players.
• And of course, the NFL just added a 17th game to its' schedule. Gimmicks? Sure. And mo' money, mo' money, mo' money.
• As for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum can score 100 points (he had 60 in a game last week) and it won't matter one bit. Marcus "Not so" Smart and Kemba "Can No Longer" Walker are a big reason why.
• But you go ahead and root for the Celtics to win that big 7 vs. 10 series or whatever it is they'll be in. Me? I'll take a pass and either watch the Red Sox bullpen implode or repeatedly hit my thumb with a hammer.
• Remember I mentioned NFT's a couple of weeks back? The Golden State Warriors sold 327 NFT's last weekend, raising $2 million at auction between selling NFT's and championship rings.
• Not for nuthin', but the WNBA has lost more than $10 million per year since its' inception. Google said this week, along with ESPN, they are deepening their relationship with women's hoops.
• Why? Since the pandemic began, every sport has lost viewership – except for the WNBA and NWSL (women's pro soccer).
• Women's sports, including on the collegiate side, are less expensive to broadcast. Their infrastructure has slowly improved and solidified through recent years, and the athletes are marketing themselves better…especially on social media.
• Empowerment is winning with a younger generation, too.
• That will surely make my buddy Edward in East Providence happier. Only 4% of current TV sports coverage, and less than 1% of sponsorship, is dedicated to women's sports.
• Is Bob Baffert the Bill Belichick of horse racing? Medina Spirit's win in the Kentucky Derby last week is his 7th Derby champ and his 9th Triple Crown win as a trainer. His horses have also finished in the money 17 times in Triple Crown races…kinda like going to the Super Bowl, amiright?
• Speaking of in the money…kudos to the ex-Brown footballers and owners of Hot Rod Charlie, who finished third in the Derby…and paid out $300K.
• UConn's Dan Hurley has hired ex-URI and former Xavier assistant Luke Murray – yes, the son of actor and comedian Bill Murray – to his basketball staff. Feel like that relationship is almost a universally known fact by now, and probably unfair to Luke.
• But hey. It is what it is. Even if it isn't exactly a Cinderella story any longer. The Huskies get a good coach, the Big East gets Carl Spackler back at its' games.
• The transfer portal topped 1500 college basketball players last weekend, or about a third of all Division I hoopsters. There's your real March-into-May Madness.
• Ryan Hawkins, a career 2K scorer at 3-time D-II champ Northwest Missouri State, is moving to Creighton. Tyon Grant-Foster, a 6-7 JR wing from Kansas, is heading to DePaul along with 5-11 FR guard Jalen Terry from Oregon.
• 6-8 forward Ty Groce will spend a year at Butler, moving from E. Michigan. 6-8 JR forward Tre King goes from E. Kentucky to Georgetown, along with 6-6 shooting guard Kaiden Rice from The Citadel.
• And 6-10 center Kur Kuath will take an extra season at Marquette, coming from Oklahoma.
• And the PC women's basketball team picked up Cranston native and former four-star St. Andrews recruit Janai Crooms, who transfers in from Michigan State with two years of eligibility.
• Providence's Nate Watson was this week named the school's Male Athlete of the Year for team sports, and swimmer/Big East champ Justin Viotto took the honor for individual sports.
• On the women' side, hockey goaltender Sandra Abstreiter was the team sport winner, while track all-American Abbey Wheeler won the individual sport honor.
• The Athletic this week pegged four Big East players for the two-round NBA Draft July 29th: UConn's James Bouknight (13th) and Villanova's Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (27th) were 1st rounders. PC's David Duke (46th) and SHU's Sandro Mamukelashvili (57th) were 2nd rounders.
• Former Friar David Berard has been hired by Providence to become the new Associate AD for men's and women's hockey – replacing Rico Blasi, who moved back into a head coaching position at St. Thomas in Minnesota.
• Berard, PC Class of '92, spent the past seven years as head coach at Holy Cross, spent one year as interim coach at UConn and spent three other occasions as an assistant on the Friars' staff. The team won 87 games during his Providence career as a goaltender.
• His son Brett was a PC freshman this past season and on the gold-medal USA World Junior team. His son Brady is on the USA U-17 National team. His wife Lynne played field hockey at PC. The only thing missing from this homecoming are the flowers and the postgame dance.
• Kudos to Duquesne head basketball coach Keith Dambrot for embracing the inevitability of athletes being able to monetize their name, image and likeness. The Dukes hired a full-time "Personal Brand Coach" this week to help athletes maximize their opportunities.
• Talk about getting a jump on your opponents. Don't laugh. It's a trend other schools should begin following. If they don't, those schools can expect more of their athletes to enter the transfer portal – where the grass is always greener on the other side.
• Collegiate Free Agency. Embrace the horror or become irrelevant.
• So how is this mask thing going to work now? We don't have to wear one outside, and that's great and all, but what if it's just more comfortable to keep it on?
• Besides, my mask has been a Godsend during cold weather. And for those of us who suffer with spring sniffles and watery eyes, it has helped in the allergy department.
• Maybe masks go away over the next few months. And perhaps that will be progress. But next winter, it will make a comeback in my wardrobe.
• And that will also be progress.
• Our ex-Governor-turned-Commerce secretary wants the $300 per week unemployment stimulus in place through Labor Day. Gee, thanks Gina, great job. Meanwhile, hundreds – if not thousands – of "Help Wanted" signs get ignored and employers can't find workers.
• I get it. Many make more on unemployment than going back to work at some jobs. But – like weaning babies off their bottles – let's use Montana as an example? Our buddy Dan McGowan at the Globe pointed out this week the Big Sky state is ending the extra $300 in benefits at the end of June.
• Instead – Montana will provide a one-time $1200 bonus to workers who stay in their new jobs for at least four weeks. Brilliant.
• It's still suckling up to the teat of Government. But at least it's putting a foot at the front door of getting back to BAU. Bidness As Usual.
• Wanna feel old? Madonna is 62. Her boyfriend is 27. At least she's still dressin' someone up. Just sayin'.
Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? It's your chance to "think out loud," so send your questions, comments and local stories to jrooke@weei.com.
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