Thoughts on Rory,NFL Free Agency and the Kentucky Wildcats for Monday

 

Rory
Rory McIlroy isn't in any way like Tiger, but when he tosses a club into a pond he still needs to be held to the same standard.

As hard as I am on Tiger Woods, I’m a little disappointed that the sports media world hasn’t been a little harder on Rory McIlroy after he chucked his 3-iron into pond on the par five fifth hole at Trump Doral. One ESPN writer even went so far as to say “it wasn’t all negative.” Wait a minute… Why do we crush Tiger Woods for moments of anger that are a simple as a curse word but McIlroy gets a pass? Sorry but if you’re going to continue to push golf as a game of honor then demand it from all players not just some.

National Football League’s free agent frenzy is underway with some surprises and some some very expected moves. Ndamukong Suh will reportedly sign the richest deal for a defensive lineman ever on Tuesday when the formal signing can begin. Suh will get $60 million in guaranteed money as heads to the AFC East to play for the Miami Dolphins. The Raiders were thought to be major players for Suh but in the end the first rumored team to want him has gotten him.

Cobb
Randall Cobb surprised a few people with his decision to stay in Green Bay for less money.

In a bit of a surprise, Randall Cobb re-signed with the Green Bay Packers after it appeared there was no way they would be able to afford him. The Raiders reportedly offered him as much as $11-12 million per season but Cobb made a decision that far too many players do not. He chose less money and the chance for team success over anything else. Cobb continues to catch passes from Aaron Rodgers and will benefit from having other talented receivers around him.

I’m not sure I understand what the Philadelphia Eagles are up to in terms of their running back situation. They traded LeSean McCoy who is arguably in his prime years and now are rumored to be looking at former 49ers’ running back Frank Gore who is absolutely on the downside of his career. Granted, if they sign Gore, he’ll make much less money than McCoy would have but at the same time isn’t McCoy a better fir for the Chip Kelly offense?

No pun intended by this but what a tough break for the San Francisco Giants who have lost outfielder Hunter Pence for six to eight weeks. Pence, who played in all 162 games last season was struck on the forearm which fractured while he was batting. The defending champion Giants really have no room error in their quest to return to the playoffs. With the Dodgers already poised to be the division’s best team, the much-improved Padres will not be easily dismissed in 2015 either.

The Kentucky Wildcats achieved a perfect 31-0 regular season on Saturday with a win over SEC rival Florida. The arguments will be far and wide as to whether the team needs to lose in the SEC Tournament in order to capture the National Title. My take is that there will be pressure on these kids one way or another. They’ve been the overwhelming favorites to win the title since the season began and losing in the conference tournament will not make a bit of difference in the amount of pressure these players will face. Should UK lose somewhere in the next four weeks, the hindsight will be ridiculous. Just let the kids and John Calipari navigate the waters. There will be rough seas ahead one way or another.

Usually by this time in the NBA season I have a firm grasp on who I think will win the title but to be honest, I think any team in the Western Conference is capable of winning the championship while in the East I have faith only in the Hawks and Cavaliers.

 

Bills-Eagles Trade Opens the NFL’s League Season With a Bang

McCoy
"Shady" McCoy is apparently not thrilled about going to Buffalo via trade.

The National Football League free agency period doesn’t begin until the 10th of this month but already there has been one major shift on the League’s landscape.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported yesterday that Philadelphia will trade LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso. The trade cannot formally happen until the 2015 NFL Season officially starts on the 10th.

Alonso
Should the Eagles have received more in return for McCoy than just Alonso?

The easiest question to ask why didn’t the Eagles ask for more? Alonso has played one season in the NFL and while he was spectacular, it’s still one season which was followed by a year on injured reserve after he tore an ACL in his knee.

McCoy on the other hand is an established star running back. Although he had a below par season for himself, he still rushed for over 1,300 yards but his receptions dropped significantly.

In 2012 and 2013, “Shady” had 54 and 52 receptions respectively. Last season, he recorded just 28 catches.

It’s no secret that McCoy was not exactly happy with things in Philly under Chip Kelly but we are hearing that he’s also not thrilled about going to Buffalo either.

What the trade does for the Eagles is create cap space which is always important and it brings another familiar face to town for the former Oregon coach who will now have nine former Ducks on his Eagles’ roster.

Don’t be surprised if Kelly does everything he can to make it ten. There’s been plenty of speculation that Kelly will try to trade up to grab Heisman winner Marcus Mariota. That idea has time to brew however.

For the Bills, new Head Coach Rex Ryan gets a running back his offense needs because there’s shock when I tell you that Ryan likes to run the ball. The question for him though is this the type of back who runs between the tackles for three yards and a cloud of dust?

That’s where I think there could be some issues. McCoy is much better suited to being in an offense more suitable to his skills which is something more like the Eagles. I think McCoy can thrive in just about any offense but I think that line of thinking is fair.

Rex Ryan wants to win games 17-10 if he can behind a punishing defense and powerful running game. The fact that his Bills traded yesterday to bring in quarterback Matt Cassel is more proof of the style Ryan wants to win with in Buffalo.

Now in terms of Alonso, he just wasn’t going to fit in Rex Ryan’s 3-4 defense. Now he goes to Philadelphia where the Eagles in a more traditional 4-3 alignment and he has the familiarity of playing for his college coach in Chip Kelly.

The question for Alonso is what can we expect from him coming off of his ACL tear which by the way was his second one in his football career? Many players come back from these injuries and play at a high level and I see no reason why Alonso can’t do the same.

If we peer into the crystal ball for both coaches it isn’t easy hard to see what’s happening with this trade. Besides creating more cap space, Chip Kelly brings in more of his “own” guys and gets rid of a guy who allegedly wasn’t crazy about playing for him.

For Ryan it’s even more clear. He’s now on his second head coaching stop and most coaches are lucky t have even one shot. With that said, Ryan is going all-in to win now because a couple of poor seasons in Buffalo with the talent he has will surely be his final head coaching stop.

2015 NBA Championship Odds Updated

Odds makers have updated their NBA Championship odds with the futures price of the Chicago Bulls going up and down like a roller coaster.

Chicago has seen its odds go up and down the last few weeks due to injuries. The Bulls odds went up to 20 to 1 from 8 to 1 last week following the news of guard Derrick Rose injuring his meniscus. When it appeared that Rose would likely return to play this season, odds makers moved the Bulls down to 10 to 1, according to Bovada and topbet.

Then Bulls guard Jimmy Butler sprained his elbow and could be out up to 6 weeks. As of Tuesday, when the new odds were released, the Bulls were back up to 14 to 1 o win the NBA Championship.

According to betonline and sportsbook.com, the Oklahoma City Thunder has also been hit by injuries and that that has impacted their odds for the championship as well.

Last week, the Thunder was one of the top 3 to win at 9 to 2 after a 7-game winning streak. However, on the new list, the Thunder had dropped slightly to 6 to 1. Russell Westbrook had minor surgery on his cheek and missed Sunday’s game, but is expected back for Wednesday’s game. Kevin Durant however will be out for another 3 to 4 weeks. Nevertheless, the team is in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

San Antonio is now one of just five teams listed on the futures board with odds in the single digits to win the NBA title, as the Spurs were adjusted to 8 to 1 from 10 to 1 the week before.

Memphis might just be the best bargain in the NBA at this time. The Grizzlies have the NBA’s third best overall record yet is only sixth in the betting with odds of 12 to 1.

2014-15 NBA TITLE ODDS

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 5 to 2
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 9 to 2
ATLANTA HAWKS 6 to 1
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 6 to 1
SAN ANTONIO SPURS 8 to 1
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 12 to 1
CHICAGO BULLS 14 to 1
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 14 to 1
HOUSTON ROCKETS 20 to 1
TORONTO RAPTORS 25 to 1

Duke in Hot Water Plus Take it Easy on LeBron People

Coach K
Coach K
I certainly hope Mike Krzyzewski did all the right things pertaining to a former player's alleged sexual assault.

Duke University is finding itself once again embroiled in a sexual assault case but this time around it isn’t the storied LaCrosse program. This time around the stakes are much higher because the spotlight is now on the most prominent person at the University and that would Head Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Back in late January, Coach K dismissed Rasheed Sulaimon for “repeatedly struggled to meet the necessary obligations.” Now as it turns out, Sulaimon is alleged to have been in two different sexual assaults at the school.

Both accusers allegedly told people about the alleged attacks but did not go to anyone of authority. Options included the Durham Police as well as the Office of Student Conduct on campus. According to ESPN, the two women chose not to got to authorities because they feared what could come from the Duke fan base. If you think that line of thinking is wrong then read the story about the reporter who covered the Jameis Winston case in Tallahassee, Florida.

He was barraged with death threats and was attacked at every turn for simply doing his job as an investigative reporter.

I have no idea if what took place with Sulaimon and the two women involved but that won’t be the biggest story about this by a long shot if there is evidence that Mike Krzyzewski knew about this and did nothing. Coach K has power beyond belief on the Duke campus but people also said the same thing about Joe Paterno and Penn State and we know how that ended up.

If ESPN’s sources are accurate, then Krzyzewski did indeed know about about the alleged assaults as far back as as March of 2014.

I am in no way suggesting that this is on par with the events of Penn State; hopefully nothing ever will be again. But this can’t be waved away, not in 2015 where the media and more importantly social media are everywhere. We’ve already seen a legendary coach taken down for not doing enough. I sure would hate to see it happen to another.

LeBron
Fans need to check their memories a bit when it comes to the greats missing shots like LeBron did.

Take it easy on King James

I’ve written in these very pages before that I will never view LeBron James in the same stratosphere as Michael Jordan and the most simple reason why is the lack of a killer instinct. That said, the people throwing darts at James for his two missed free throws with just four seconds remaining in Houston the other night need to chill out.

“Jordan would have never missed those! Kobe wouldn’t have missed those either!”

I’ve got news for you folks… Both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant missed plenty of game-winning shots during their careers. To say they didn’t means you have not seen enough of either of them because I’ve seen it and I know many others have too.

Like I said, I will never be able to place James above His Airness simply because he lacks the titles but just as importantly he lacks the killer instinct that drove Jordan so hard. That’s not his fault, it’s just how it is. Either way, lay off LeBron for crying out loud. There isn’t a professional alive who hasn’t missed key shots down the stretch.

Sometimes I wonder what universe you people are living in when you say “Jordan would have never missed those.”

2015 MLB Player Props

The Major League Baseball 2015 regular season starts in just over one month. Odds makers have just released an array of different props that can be bet on for the season.

Bookmakers have released MLB World Series futures, divisional odds and win total, but now there are player specific props to wager on as well.

One prop bet that is always the most popular is the player who will hit the most home runs. Last season that player was Nelson Cruz in the American League with 50 and Giancarlo Stanton with 37 led the National League.

Stanton this season is the favorite at +600 to lead the majors in home runs. According to Bovada and betonline, Stanton is +600, Jose Abreu is +800 and Chris Carter is +1800.

A number of other key statistical offensive categories are available to make future bets on.

The league leader for hits has an over/under of 213.5.

Last season just one player Jose Altuve had 200 or more hits with 225. Odds makers such as topbet and sportsbook.com have Altuve leading the majors in hits but with just 195.

The batting average leader in the league is set at .341 for the over/under. Altuve led the league in batting average last season as well as in hits. He finished at .341, with Victor Martinez at .335 in second and Michael Brantley at .327 in third.

The number of home runs has an over/under of 43.5. No individual hitter is expected to hit over 41 home runs this season. Since 2001, the number of homes has continually dropped.

The most RBIs are set at 124.5 for the over/under. Last season the top RBI man was Adrian Gonzalez for the Los Angeles Dodgers with 116 and just 12 hit the 100 RBI mark. Both Stanton and Miguel Cabrera are expected to have 104 RBIs in the season making them co-favorites in that category.

The leader in stolen bases for this season has an over/under of 63.5. Dee Gordon of Miami and Billy Hamilton of Cincinnati will be the top two in stolen bases. Gordon led the league last season with 64 stolen bases, while Hamilton tied Altuve for second at 56.

From hitting to pitching, the league leader for wins is set at 21.5. Last season the most wins were 21 by Clayton Kershaw, while Johnny Cueto and Adam Wainwright recorded 20 apiece. Just one pitcher in the last five seasons, Justin Verlander in 2011 with 24, has won 22 or more games.

The most saves in the league is set at 47.5. Fernando Rodney last season led the league with 48 saves. Five top relievers in the league are predicted to record only 35 saves this season, which is astronomically low. After all, in 11 of the last 14 seasons, at least one pitcher has had 48 or more saves.

The First Sunday in March Brings Many Thoughts From Across the Sports’ Spectrum

Westbrook

 

Westbrook
The dent in Russell Westbrook's face is pretty evident in this photo.

With numerous goings on in numerous sports, I’m giving you a little bit of everything as the third month of 2015 begins.

There was a time when it was extremely rare for fans to get a hold of hats, shirts or jerseys of their favorite teams and while that difficulty no longer exists the Pittsburgh Pirates have to wish it still did. With the revealing of “Jihadi John” of ISIS this week, a photo of him surfaced wearing a Pirates baseball cap and it has sickened not only the fans but the Pirates’ organization. It’s too bad you don’t actually have to do something to prove your fandom.

Remember the saying, “Do you want another hole in your head?” While a hole is not what Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook has after being kneed in the head inadvertently by a teammate. Westbrook had a clear ‘dent’ on the right side of his face and he had surgery to repair the zygomatic arch bone which is officially part of the cheek. He’s out for today’s game against the Lakers and will be re-evaluated this week,

Kentucky rolled to another SEC victory yesterday as they knocked off a pretty good Arkansas team. I have a really hard time seeing the Wildcats get beat before the NCAA Tournament begins. Yes, they could face some challenges in the SEC Tournament but once tourney time hits I expect them to be even better.

QBs
Mariota and Winston each have questions about their games heading towards the draft.

In what is already a weak quarterback class, both Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota have separate issues that teams considering them will have to contend with as the draft approaches. Winston’s issues are obvious; can he mature enough to make off-field problems a thing of the past? For Mariota, the issue might be bigger. I worry about him having to take traditional three, five and seven step drops at the pro level. It might not sound like a big deal but trust me, it is.

RIP Anthony Mason. The former New York Knick was the epitome of basketball in the mid-1990s when the game went from a fast-paced, back and forth style to an aggressive, physical style ushered in by the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons. Mason played with the Knicks and Patrick Ewing when they made the NBA Finals in 1994 and lost to the Houston Rockets. Mason was consistently at the epicenter of the chaos in the sometimes brutal and physical Eastern Conference Playoffs. Whether it was the Jordan-led Bulls or the Alonzo Mourning Heat, Mason was a physical presence not to messed with.

The Cleveland Browns did their due diligence in getting Josh McCown to come to them for the 2015 season. McCown will not be any kind of savior for Cleveland at 35 years of age but with Johnny Manziel in rehab and Brian Hoyer likely heading elsewhere, the Browns acted wisely to get a veteran QB into the fold. McCown was 1-10 last year with Tampa Bay and perhaps the reason the Browns liked him was that his one win was over the Steelers. Still, one has to wonder just what the direction of the Browns is.

While the NFL toys with the idea of one or possibly two teams in Los Angeles, a new study says a new stadium there would immediately be a terrorist target. While terrorism is nothing to joke about, why should we assume that a stadium in LA would be any more of a risk than one in New York or Chicago or Kansas City for that matter? Obviously bigger cities are better targets for terrorists but I don’t think we can just say the others aren’t susceptible as well.

Bob Knight Says Kentucky Will Not End Undefeated

One question for close to the entire college basketball regular season has dominated: Will the Kentucky Wildcats finished the season undefeated.

Now Kentucky is sitting at 28-0 as it head into Saturday’s big game against No. 18 ranked Arkansas. With 28 games played, the Wildcats need just 12 more wins to match the last college basketball team that finished the season undefeated, Bob Knight’s  Indiana Hoosiers in 1976.

The question remains on everyone’s mind, but the odds remain against it.

Bill Self, the Kansas coach whose team lost by 32 points to Kentucky in November said at the time if the Wildcats were still undefeated in February, then a perfect season could happen.

In the 12 games that remain, some should be quite close. Prior to the end of the regular season, the Wildcats much play the Razorbacks, Florida as well as Georgia. Both the Gators and Bulldogs gave Kentucky tough games the first time they played in earlier this month.

Kentucky could play any of those same teams during the SEC tournament or even rivals such as LSU or Texas A&M.

If the Wildcats do make it out of the regular season and SEC tournament unscathed, they would still have to win 6 games of which as many as 4 could be versus ranked teams.

One analytical expert ran a calculation on Kentucky going undefeated and the Wildcats came out with a 24% change of going 40-0, earlier this season.

Kentucky’s odds of ending the regular season undefeated have gone up to over 74% at this point. Its chances of winning the SEC tournament are now 73% and over 48% of winning the national championship, says one basketball expert. Last season, no team entering the tournament had more than a 15% chance of taking home the title.

Most odds makers are giving the Wildcats just a 24% chance of winning the national championship and going undefeated, which is very high for something that has not been accomplish for the past 39 years.

Nevertheless, it will take excellent coaching from head coach John Calipari since his players are between 18 and 22 years of age, with the majority less than 20 and pressure situations, which will only increase as they continue winning, will make it hard on the young players.

Thoughts on the NFL This Weekend Include Hernandez, Peterson and More

Peterson
Peterson
Adrian Peterson could be reinstated soon following a judge's ruling.

I can’t tell you for certain if Aaron Hernandez was the man that pulled the trigger and killed Odin Lloyd but it certainly doesn’t look like he “didn’t” do it either. The former New England Patriot is currently on trial for the murder of Lloyd back in July of last year.

The prosecution has so far done a masterful job of piecing together that events that led to the murder and everything points to Hernandez as at the very least the mastermind if not the actual murderer. So far the prosecution has revealed video of Hernandez with the same type of gun that was used to kill Lloyd.

They’ve also gotten testimony from Hernandez’ fiancee admitting she put a box containing two handguns in the trash. There are several other bits of damaging evidence that have been presented but to this point, it looks like Hernandez will be spending a long time in prison.

Of more importance in this particular case is whether other National Football League players are living lives that are at all similar to Hernandez.’ We know about Ray Lewis and Ray Rice and Rae Carruth and we are now waiting for so-called “damaging” video of Dez Bryant but is there other behavior out there like this? With all that Roger Goodell has on his plate looking into more of these types of behavior should probably be pretty high on the list.

Peterson to be reinstated?

U.S. District Court Judge David Doty ruled that the NFL did not handle things properly in the case involving Minnesota Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson. The decision allows Peterson to seek reinstatement immediately and may also allow former Carolina Panther Greg Hardy to do the same.

Make not mistake, this ruling doesn’t remove what Peterson did; it just rules that the NFL once again over-stepped its’ bounds in terms of how it and when it can punish players.

Let’s assume that Peterson is indeed allowed to play in 2015 and for my money he should be. It seems unlikely that Peterson will remain in Minnesota after his agent go into a pretty heated exchange with one of the top executives from the Vikings during the NFL Combine. Assuming the Vikes are ready to move on, where would Peterson go?

Bostick
Brandon Bostick revealed that he received death threats following the NFC Title game.

The easy answer is that Dallas doesn’t keep DeMarco Murray around and brings in the hometown kid in Peterson. If you recall, there was a phone call in which Peterson admitted he’d like to play in Big D so this seems the most likely move.

Death threats for Bostick

I wish I could say I was surprised by this… Former Green Bay reserve tight end Brandon Bostick admitted this week that after his gaffe in the NFC Championship Game in Seattle he received several death threats. Bostick was the guy who went up for the ball on Seattle’s eventually successful on-sides kick and bobbled the ball.

Bostick admitted after the stunning loss that his coaches made it clear that he was not to go after the ball should it come to him. Instead, his job was to be the first line of blockers or “protectors” for the guys behind him who would grab the ball. Bostick did what many of us would do as the ball came directly at him; he leaped high to grab it but couldn’t get a firm grasp of the ball.

The rest as they say is history. What’s sad obviously is that anyone would actually threaten a person’s life over this. Perhaps what they should focus their attention on was the conservative play-calling and inability to stop the Seahawks when they needed to. Maybe that’s what these idiots need to focus on rather than cowardly threatening a football player.

 

Golden State vs. Cleveland Could be Preview to NBA Finals

Most sportsbooks are calling the matchup on Thursday night in the NBA between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the most likely matchup for the NBA Finals this season

Most of the shops following the Derrick Rose injury this week, now consider Cleveland an even heavier favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

According to Bovada and sportsbook.com, the Cavaliers are currently -180 to make the NBA Finals and Chicago had been dropped to +1500. Out West, Golden State is +220 to take that conference title.

A Finals pairing between the Cavaliers and Warriors is currently paying +250. The pairings next highest include Cleveland/Oklahoma City at +650, Cleveland/Memphis at +800 and Atlanta/Golden State at +1000.

That makes the game on Thursday in Cleveland even that more of a big deal.

If bookmakers are correct in this matchup between Cleveland and Golden State does end up being a preview to the championship, this game would be the only reference point for the matchup.

The first head-to-head game between the two teams cannot be used as a comparison since star forward LeBron James did not play for Cleveland.

Golden State was victorious in that game 112-94. Golden State enjoyed an edge of 36-3 in points on the fast break and recorded 35 assists on 43 field goals.

The loss at the time was Cleveland’s fourth straight and the Cavs would eventually lose six straight. However, since James returned from two weeks on the sideline Cleveland is 17-2.

Nevertheless, Golden State is 21-5 over its past 26 games overall and has won 16 of 19 games against Eastern Conference opponents.

One the MVP front, Stephen Curry remains at -300, the overwhelming favorite. James is third at +500, with Houston’s James Harden sitting second at +350 and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook in fourth at +1000.

With the consistency Curry has played with all season and the way his team had taken the West by storm and leading the NBA with the best record overall, it will be hard to un-seed him from the top.

Curry scored 51 points on February 4 and is averaging 28 points per game during the month. He scored 32 on Tuesday night after sitting out a game over the weekend with a sore ankle.

Kyrie Irving is a great defender for Cleveland, but Curry was not fazed the first time they met this season as he scored 23 points, had 10 assists and just one turnover.

Thoughts on Tiger Plus the Latest “Storming the Court” Problem

Tiger
Tiger
Both Jack Nicklaus and Butch Harmon weighed in on Tiger's recent struggles.

Everyone these days seems to have an opinion on what’s wrong with Tiger Woods. The man who Tiger is chasing in the Major Victories category, Jack Nicklaus, thinks Woods’ problems are “between his ears.”

Former swing coach Butch Harmon, with whom Tiger won eight of his 14 majors with, said recently he’d actually spend time with Woods but that he’ll never call because “his pride will get in the way.” I can’t argue one bit with either Nicklaus or Harmon because I believe both guys to be among the most credible in terms of ‘talking Tiger.’

I honestly don’t know if Woods’ issues are limited to just one thing because I really think what he’s going through is as a volatile cocktail of things ranging from his broken down body, failing swing and mental issues that go far beyond even what the Golden Bear is suggesting.

Paul Azinger mentioned that what Tiger is doing by taking a leave of absence of is the right thing to do. He needs to sort out not only his mental side but also he needs to find the right swing again and the only way he can consistently do that is with practice, not tournament golf.

I do believe however there will come a time when he has to return or else his chances of returning as a top player reduce with every tournament he misses. The great ones need competition not just to better themselves but to thrive and even survive. Woods is exactly the type of player I speak of and he certainly doesn’t need me to tell him that.

Storming the court
How long before a player's safety is really in question before the NCAA does something to keep them safe?

Storming the Court Take II

What was it? A year or two ago that Duke Head Basketball Mike Krzyzewski pulled his team off of the floor in the waning seconds of a loss on the road? Remember how many went after Coach K saying this was just another example of the “spoiled Dookies” not being able to take losing?

I defended Krzyzewski at the time and I will again today in the midst of another story about a large contingent of fans rushing the court. Two nights ago in Manhattan, Kansas, the under- .500 Kansas State Wildcats had knocked off arch-rival Kansas and before the final shot had even touched the floor the Wildcats’ faithful were running wild on the hardwood.

To his credit, K-State Head Coach Bruce Weber and his assistants were doing their best to keep the Jayhawks safe until the crowd could disperse but their efforts were essentially fruitless. If you watch the video, you can clearly see students rushing directly to the KU bench to taunt the players. Several are moved out of the way by security personnel while more keep piling on the court.

Conferences like the SEC have adopted rules against students rushing the court. Those include fines against the university in question but that doesn’t always stop the crowds from going bonkers. Personally, I like the storming of the court or field in the case of college football. At least on the gridiron, there is more room and typically opposing players have a sliver more of time to get into the locker room but still, there are dangers.

The overwhelming majority of fans who rush the court mean no harm to the opposition. They run out there to celebrate with other fans and the players but unfortunately there are a small percentage who are rushing the court to instigate problems. Jayhawks’ Head Coach Bill Self said as much when he talked about fans who “chicken wing” players as they rush the court.

Before long, it won’t be a chicken wing but an actual elbow, punch or worse and then the NCAA might actually be forced to act.