![]() ![]() Saturday, the Spartans and the Wolverines did exactly that. At a vigil honoring the victims Wednesday, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo gave a moving speech where he told those gathered, "Let’s do a better job taking care of each other. Michigan State didn’t score in the final 2:29 of a game that featured nine lead changes and 11 ties, but the Spartans' play was more about bringing a grieving community together in the wake of tragedy. There were reminders everywhere of what had just happened: Michigan players wore T-shirts that read, "Michigan basketball stands with MSU" and thousands in the arena held up signs that said, "Spartan Strong." Less than a week after a gunman opened fired on their campus and killed three students, the Spartans returned to the court and gave a gutsy performance in the road loss. Down the line, my guess is we’ll want those bullets back.The final score might have read 84-72 in favor of Michigan but make no mistake: There was no loser in this matchup, one of the most heated rivalries in college sports. That’s an awfully compelling argument.ĭo we want to make that argument in Manhattan? We certainly can at the moment. No, the real and substantial argument against it is that taxpayers ought not be subsidizing major college sports venues because of the bottomless pools of money those businesses have to draw from. ![]() It would be prudent to erase the first three paragraphs of this column. Right? I don’t know what that project will be, or when it will come, but if I’m Gene Taylor or Richard Linton, I’ve got the memo already written.Īnd so, out of economic self-interest, perhaps it would be wise to keep our powder dry on this subject. So we can further assume that K-State’s athletics department will be the next recipient at the taxpayer trough. Still, there’s no denying that this is a shift in the standards. The state’s portion of the KU project is, in fact, supposed to be used for that sort of infrastructure, too. That’s why Kimball has been torn up forever. The government has, in fact, helped spiff up the area around K-State’s athletics complex, with major improvements to roads and other infrastructure. Would we in Manhattan be against that? Well, certainly not on the basis of envy or self-interest. Assume that state economic-development officials handed over $50 million to K-State to help add on to the football stadium – on the grounds that it would help the state’s economy. Let’s assume, for the sake of discussion, that the roles were reversed. The Welfarehawks? Should the midfield marker by the $50-yard-line? And so on.īut, OK, that line of argumentation is tinged with provincialism. How about the state give K-State $50 million so it doesn’t have to knock down the Ahearn gym, and abandon the fieldhouse to the eventual wrecking ball? What if the government just agreed to give K-State one-third of the money the Vaniers have donated since the late 1980s? There’s some irony in the coincidences - perhaps the passing of Jack Vanier marked the end of one philosophy and the beginning of something different. I could yammer on in this vein at some length. A government subsidy at a time when TV contracts provide giant money gushers into major conference athletics programs? Taxpayer money to one Division 1 football stadium in the state, when the other big one (which happens to be here in our town) has done its upgrades with private money over five decades, upgrades that have brought in tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue? It’s tempting, as a K-State fan, to bash the state government’s decision to hand $50 million of taxpayer money to KU to help it fix up its football stadium. It's the state "welfare" check that's really stirring the pot down here.įROM THE PUBLISHER Manhattan Mercury | Welfare for KU football? Or an eco devo project In basketball they only travel out of region 5 times a year that could be paired in one week trips (ISU could spend a long weekend in Florida playing Miami on Wednesday and UCF on Saturday.Ĭlick to expand. ![]() In football teams only have to travel out of their region 2-3 times a year which could mean once a month. With this split you can preserve regional rivalries, cut on travel, and play every team at home and away in a 4 year span. Since this is all completely hypothetical I'm considering any team not in the SEC or B1G fair play for expansion (because lets face it nobody is foolish enough to desert either of those money machines). Tournament week sister divisions make up 10 team brackets with the winner of each side meeting for the championship. Each team plays their equally ranked counter part from the other sister divisions.įor basketball full double round robin within sister divisions. Championship weekend is cross division play. Every year divisions are paired up making a total of 10 team "sister divisions".įor football each team plays a round robin within their sister division. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |