“That's not a judgment on the young man. It's just that was a pretty fundamental tenet of American sports, that if you're going to participate, you can't gamble, especially on your own team.” - Scott Stricklin, Florida AD, on Brendan Sorsby.
🎙️ Leading Off
Well well. Looks like we got a series on our hands after all. I can make this quick. We just have to go back to 2013 when the Rockets acquired James Harden. Harden spent three seasons in Houston before Mike D’Antoni arrived and handed the keys of the offense to James as point guard. Harden’s assists per game jumped from 7 to 11 in his first season under D’Antoni. How? Why? The Rockets brain trust felt every second with the ball not in James’ hands was a waste of time. If the Rockets were to play with pace, and attempt a shot in the first 12 seconds of the shot clock, they simply didn’t have the time to work the ball to Harden. He needed to carry it up the court. As pace escalated across the League, PG duties shrunk and every team’s best player could handle the ball across half court. It’s why you don’t think twice seeing Jokic bring the ball up. It’s why Wemby even thought to turn and dribble before dumping the ball off Castle’s back in game 2.
So what’s the issue? We know by now how divorced the regular season NBA is from the postseason. Extended defensive pressure with hand checking doesn’t exist in February. This time of year, we’re watching offenses hit a wall with their best player isolated or begging for a screen 30ft from the hoop. As defensive pressure extends past the 3pt line in the playoffs, offenses struggle to get their best players in positions that don’t ask them to navigate 3 lines of defense and 30ft to the rim. Brunson is finding this out the hard way.
It would be near impossible for NY to flip Brunson into more of a Steph Curry role. Yes, Curry would bring the ball up for Golden State, but he’d move the ball to Draymond before darting along the baseline, off screens, and back up to an attacking position. NY is asking Brunson to key the offense even though he’s defended at the logo.
The Knicks need two more wins and this analysis won’t get me hired to be one of those dweebs that sit in the second row behind the bench holding an iPad and wearing the same clothes as the other 14 coaches. OR WILL IT? Good ideas can come from anywhere Mike Brown. If we see NY play Alvarado alongside Brunson, you might see me travelling on the team plane next winter.
🏈 Hard In The Paint
(RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
Brendan Sorsby bet on his lawyers and it paid off. Sorsby has been granted an injunction by a Texas judge that will likely hold off any further litigation (at least until after the season) and as such, he’ll suit up for the Texas Tech Red Raiders at QB next fall. You been tracking this one? Allow me to catch you up:
Sorsby is/was the #1 ranked transfer QB and moved from Cincinnati to Lubbock for a reported $7m.
The Red Raiders are benefactored by perhaps college football’s most aggressive power broker, Cody Campbell.
Sorsby was immediately suspended for his final season of eligibility after an investigation revealed over 9000 bets on games. Sorsby even bet on games at Indiana while he was on the roster.
Sorsby’s legal defense has largely hinged on him admitting to a gambling disorder, categorizing it as a mental health issue, and pointing out the NCAA’s lucrative relationships with betting platforms.
Monday, the courts deemed Sorsby eligible. They ruled the NCAA had limited powers to suspend someone over gambling.
The entirety of the non-Texas Tech football world lost their minds on hearing the results of the proceedings. Can I be one more disgruntled party? Allow me to summon all the journalistic integrity I have, but what the fuck is going on? Is there a rule left in college football that any one needs to follow?
The through-line of the legal argument is mostly that the NCAA shouldn’t profit from gambling while banning players from the practice. And NCAA legal proceedings are even more complicated because no one has really defined players as employees or not. So does this governing body have jurisdiction over people they don’t actively employ. More to the point, an NCAA suspension directly impacts Sorsby’s ability to make a living. It’s very difficult to prevent another human from earning money (probably a good thing), so ever since players have started to earn millions, the courts have largely ruled in their favor. That’s how we end up with former professionals re-entering college basketball, and it’s why Sorsby is going to cash a major check.
There just has to be some goddang rules though. I can enroll in college. I can consume a bucket of steroids. I can maybe find a school that needs 2pts, 4rebs and five fouls off the bench. If that school is willing to pay me, then I’m willing to get on the Gear. Like everyone, I too will find any excuse to pound testosterone with the Fellas. Could I be deemed eligible? What grounds does the NCAA have to say I’m too old, or too JACKED, to play in their league if they’re compromising my ability to get educated and feed my family.
Hypotheticals taken to the extreme make for lousy literary pieces and even worse legal arguments, but the Sorsby case IS exactly the hypothetical leagues have been dismissing ever since getting in bed with Draftkings, Fanduel, and the rest of the sportsbooks. What if a player bets on his own games, bets on thousands of games across the country, and then blames mental illness to regain eligibility? Well, then he’s allowed to play. Am I dismissing gambling addiction? Trying not to. I’m dismissing the need for a gambling addict to immediately regain access to the workplace where his addiction could materially impact millions of dollars of other people’s money. Does that mean Sorsby needs a doctor’s note to get back on the field. Who the hell knows. All any of us knows is that college football is broken and it’s not getting better anytime soon.
📻 Over The Air
📡 JumboTron: Tonight’s Must Watch
All times PST
Yankees vs Guardians, 3:40pm Prime, can NY finally find something to cheer about?
Hurricanes vs Golden Knights, 5:00pm TNT, Vegas looks to go up 3-1
☎️ The Phone Line
Best thing on the timeline today:
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Walkup Song
Walkup Song
Rebelution
For days in between Finals games:
Spotify