The Fallout For Cancelling The College Football Season
The future of fall football is bleak. How it will impact the Olympics, your favorite college towns and other sports.
With two of the five “Power Conferences” postponing their season until possibly the spring, the college football season, as we know it, looks bleak.
Fall won’t be the same,
The Last Night’s Game Team
1. Football is by far the largest revenue generator for universities’ athletic departments. The 65 “Power Five” schools stand to lose more than $4 billion in football revenues and at least $1.2 billion of that from lost ticket revenue. (Power Five schools – think Ohio State, Michigan, USC, LSU, Florida State, etc). For perspective, the cancellation of the March Madness tournament (basketball) cost schools $375 million, which doesn’t hold a candle to football season. Wonder what your favorite school’s athletic department’s annual budget is? PREPARE TO HAVE YOUR MIND BLOWN
2. Out of the 1,100+ NCAA schools, only 29 made a profit and very few have the financial reserves needed. That loss in revenue from the March Madness tournament that never happened and football season will impact other sports. Schools have already committed to pulling non-revenue generating sports like men’s and women’s golf, hockey, baseball/softball and tennis. That’s why in the PAC-12 (Pacific Athletic Conference) player protest that they wanted to cut coaching and administrative salaries to lower the overhead to protect these other sports. WILL THEY SURVIVE?
3. The trickle-down effect is real. From the non-athletic side of universities that count on the money, to the Olympics, which count on amateur athletes to lead the country to gold. TEAM U.S.A. could be a side effect of the cancellation of the seasons for sports other than football. GOING FOR GOLD
4. It’s not just about the dollars and cents for the schools, the players may take a hit having to choose between the NFL Draft (National Football League) and a football season, if they play in the spring. (I.e. key players are not likely to play if it comes down to it because they would need to focus on preparing for the draft which is also in the spring). A season can make or break a player in their future football career, so it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. CONTINUE THE UNPREDICTABILITY
5. So many college towns depend on these games, from the food vendors to the hotels. For example, on average, the Tuscaloosa area (home of Alabama football) sees a “visitor expenditure impact” of about $19.6 million from a home game. BRING HOME THE BACON
I Like Flat Bats And I Cannot Lie
Decoding cricket and its tea breaks, champagne and skyrocketing popularity for women who play it.
We’ve heard from a lot of you that you’d like to know more about cricket. It’s not commonly played in the U.S. but it’s continuing to gain popularity especially as participation in high impact sports like football declines.
So, we went straight to the expert, our Last Night’s Game southern hemisphere correspondent and massive cricket fan, Toby, to understand the ins and outs of the game and the culture surrounding the sport. He gave us the low down on how to fit in, what we needed to know and most importantly, what we needed to eat and drink when watching a match.
While cricket seems like the proper sport where you’d dress like you’re going to a garden party, is that the case?
Well, Cricket is largely played in countries that were former British colonies, hence the perception around the proper attire. If you are going to sit in a ‘members’ area at some of the famous grounds around the world such as Lord’s in London, or the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Australia, you’d need to wear a suit and jacket for men and equivalent for the ladies.
However, if you are sitting in the general crowd at the ground...anything goes.
Baseball is synonymous beer, hot dogs and Cracker Jacks, what kinds of traditional food should we make sure we eat when we’re watching a match and what should we drink?
Lots of water! Cricket games can take a long time, and they are played outdoors. But, traditionally, drinking beer at the cricket is considered part of the activity (much like baseball) although options have developed.
The Lord’s Cricket Ground in London (considered the home of cricket) is famous for its members sipping champagne while watching the action.
Must also be noted that because cricket is played by many different cultures around the world, what is appropriate to drink at the game changes from country to country. Same with food. The foods served at the cricket are often synonymous with the local cuisine where the game is being played. In Australia it might be pies or chips, in the United Kingdom - pork sausages, and in the likes of India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka, local spicy foods.
You mentioned that games can last for a long time. What are we talking about?
It depends on the game. There are three formats of cricket:
1. Test cricket, which goes over five days;
2. One-day cricket, which goes for one day; and
3. T20 cricket, which takes four hours.
In test cricket, the players pay in 2-hour intervals each day and stop for ‘lunch’ (40 mins) and ‘tea’ (20 mins).
Test cricket is the traditional format of cricket, and both teams wear all white uniforms. In the other formats, the players wear team oriented colored clothes.
Is there a “Super Bowl” of cricket? A big matchup that we could get excited about (and maybe catch on TV in the states)?
One day cricket has a World Cup held every four years. The last Men’s World Cup was held in London last year and had an amazing final.
In recent years, women’s cricket has exploded. The Women’s World Cup was held in Australia earlier this year and it was the second highest attendance at a women’s sporting event in the world (86,174 attended the final). Katy Perry was the pre-game entertainment.
Who is the Cristiano Ronaldo of the sport? (I.e. the most popular cricket player)?
India is the largest cricket nation in the world, and the captain of their national team is therefore the most revered player in the world, his name is Virat Kohli.
What do we need to know about the game itself?
Cricket’s closest cousin is baseball but there are more differences than similarities. For one, the wicket keeper who stands behind the batter wears gloves, but the remaining fields do not wear gloves.
Here’s a great video that explains cricket in an easy to understand way in less than two minutes. (Don’t let the terms intimidate you - that’s normal). In addition to that, here are a few key terms that might help you up your game.
Bowler - is the pitcher
Over - is made up of six pitches. Each bowler, bowls six pitches and that is then called an over. Another bowler then bowls from the other end of the pitch.
Wickets - is used to define both the clay-based pitch that the batter bats on and the three wooden stumps at each end that the bowler is trying to hit
‘Howzat!’ - is what the bowler yells to appeal to the umpire when he thinks he has a batter out and wants the umpire to make a call.
Basketball Is Back - What You Need To Know
What you can expect from the unusual NBA season.
Life inside the bubble of the restart of the NBA season where teams are in it to win it.
Literally,
The Last Night’s Game Team
Remind me where we left off. The NBA (National Basketball Association) shut down their season on March 11, which was a little over halfway through the season. Now it returns on Thursday, July 30 with 22 teams inside the NBA bubble. Why 22 and not all 30? They are the teams that had a shot or had already qualified for the postseason. (And let’s be honest to give big names like Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans, some TV time). Regardless, the season will end in mid-October with a new NBA champion. HITTING THE HARDWOOD
1. Team hotels in Disney World (home of the NBA bubble) were assigned by a team’s record, the better the team, the nicer the hotel. The rationale? Teams that are better are likely to be there longer. HOME AWAY FROM HOME
2. At this moment, players’ families aren’t allowed into the bubble (unlike the WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association). For so many players, after a significant amount of time at home, it was hard to leave knowing they might not see their families for two months. As it stands now, after the first round is over, restrictions should lighten up and families will be allowed but they too will have to quarantine before entering the bubble. A SWEET STORY THAT’LL MELT YOUR HEART
3. Players who opt out of the season without a medical exemption will not be paid. Players like Avery Bradley of the Los Angeles Lakers have opted out of the season for the safety of their families. He is opting out because his son has a respiratory ailment that is one of the riskiest conditions for someone who contracts COVID. SAFETY FIRST
4. Life inside the bubble is kind of like summer camp for professional athletes with fishing, golf and beer. That being said, there have been a fair share of challenges like players stepping outside the bubble to pick up food a delivery (a no-no) and for visits to the strip club (clearly a no-no). It’s working for now, but still has its challenges. IN IT TOGETHER
5. Want to get involved? The NBA has a new deal with Michelob Ultra that includes installing video boards for 300 fans to appear during games to add some atmosphere to the empty stands. That'll be a nice change as the teams have been practicing on courts built inside ballrooms at the various on-property hotels. CHEERS