Somewhere a University President is Crying...

In Chicago, the National Labor Relations Board made a decision that has the potential to change the state of sports, nay the state of America, as we know it. A group of football players from Northwestern University headed by former quarterback Kain Colter appeared in front of the Board with the intent to unionize as employees of the university. The NLRB ruled in favor of the student-athletes, much to the dismay of colleges everywhere. The group of athletes is seeking better medical coverage, four-year scholarships and the all-important chance of being paid. The case will likely be reviewed by the NLRB reps in Washington D.C. but it is probably going to take a deal of time. This has given credibility to the debate of college-athletes and salaries for them and brought the idea to the front page of the sports world.

There is no doubt that college sports are a financially lucrative business in modern society and the athletes that bring the sport its popularity are shielded from wreaking the immediate benefits. That being said, college-athletes are amateurs by legal definition and should not be paid to play. As high school recruits sign their letters of intent to attend a university under an athletic scholarship, they are giving their athletic abilities to the university in exchange for a free college education. They are, in a sense, un-paid interns of the university. They put in hard work and have to follow a demanding schedule but do this at their own risk; they chose to sign that letter knowing full well they will not see the cash they help bring in.

There are many holes in a collegiate landscape filled with paid athletes. First, is the unbelievable financial toll it would bear on universities. According to a study done by the National Collegiate Players Association and Drexel University, the average football player would be worth $137,357 and a higher end football program, like Texas, having the average total over a half a million. This load would be too much to handle for smaller Division I universities and likely would send them in a financial downward spiral. Another issue stems from the idea that if players

are paid, colleges could no longer hide behind the notion that athletes are amateurs by the legal definition. So these players will be taxed just as if they were receiving a salary for any other job.

Kain Colter with College Athletes Players Association representatives

There remain countless arguments on both sides of the pay-for-play idea in college sports but some are just outright ridiculous to say the least. First, the idea that these student-athletes are going to college primarily for an education is outrageous and just isn’t true. This doesn’t necessarily mean that a full scholarship isn’t appropriate compensation for those who want to play college sports but their main focus is finding a university that fits their needs athletically. Second, those who think that college athletes are being exploited for their talents by not getting paid are ignoring the life of these athletes. Yes, the student-athletes aren’t seeing a source of income and their athletic responsibilities hinder their ability to take on a job, but they are very much taken care of. These student-athletes have a whole staff of coaches, trainers, and other students always looking after them, they have team dinners together while they are on the road and they have the type of structure that regular college students can’t imagine.

Although this isn’t likely to be resolved in the near future it is a hard pressing issue in the state of sports so what do you think? Do college-athletes deserve the right to be paid? How would you compensate college athletes for their hard work and time they contribute to their sports program? Leave your answers in the comments down below!

Faster

In 1988, the eyes of the world turned to the Olympic Games hosted in Seoul, South Korea and quite possibly the most intriguing event was the men's 100 meter. On the line was not only the title of the fastest man in the world but the fastest man ever. The field was full of great athletes, four of the eight finalists posted a time under 10 seconds and the headliners were two record setters, Ben Johnson of Canada and the US's Carl Lewis. The field did anything and everything to get to the top of the world, including cheating. To be more specific, six of the eight finalists tested positive for steroids at some point during their career. The most infamous was the winner of the race and world-record setter, Ben Johnson, who was striped of the gold only one day after winning it. The race lives in infamy for its tainted finalists.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/23/sport/olympics-2012-ben-johnson-seoul-1988-dirtiest-race/

Winning is everything. Whether we believe it or not cheating goes on today in major sports and it is a disgrace to those people who worked hard to get those athletes to the top of their profession. There are many stories of steroid using all throughout sports but I chose the story of Ben Johnson because he was a witness to this so called cheating. In his mind it wasn't cheating because he was a witness to others doing it during the world championship the previous year. To me this is ridiculous, to say the least. The sports in modern society have become as much about finding a way to cheat as it is about hard work and training. Athletes will do anything to win and they could care less about how they do it. Is winning without your dignity or class still winning? To me it isn't but it's a question that the world's greatest have to ask themselves on a daily basis.

Welcome one and all to the inaugural post of Omaha's best new blog! For my first post I will introduce you to the man behind the screen, the Nick Sudbeck. I am 15 (16 in less than a week) and am the older of two children, with a younger brother named Joe, who is 9 and bears very little resemblance to me. I attend the Creighton Preparatory High School. I am an avid Creighton basketball fan who attends all of their home basketball games and follows them as they tackle the challenge of transitioning from the Missouri Valley Conference into the more difficult Big East Conference. The Jays are one of the most highly skilled offensive teams in the country and are led by some of the best shooters in division one basketball, but my favorite is the lumberjack look-a-like Ethan Wragge.  Although watching basketball is entertaining, I prefer playing the sport instead. I am currently on the sophomore basketball team at Creighton Prep and we are enjoying a great year with only one loss, Papillion La-Vista Monarchs, on our resume. It was a heart-breaking loss that came at the last second.

Our team is a great, competitive one to be a part of with many fantastic athletes and personalities. We are a fun group and just had a fantastic team-building bowling experience followed but chicken fingers at Raisin Cain’s. Some other hobbies of mine include fishing on my Grandpa’s land in Hardington, Nebraska, watching movies of all kinds and taking long walks along the beach in front of a sunset. I love to laugh and have a great sense of humor, which I share with those that are apart of my life. I hope you continue to visit my blog to get my insight on just about anything and everything there is to talk about.