Cincinnati still content with being good, not great.

Cam Newton loves this mug.

The Bengals awarded Andy Dalton with a six year contract worth $115 million. Why? Who knows. How much is the guaranteed money which is all that really matters with these sorts of deals? That's not yet known. But what it does show is that Cincinnati is committed to Dalton for the immediate future as well as to good regular season play but horrible post season play.

Dalton is the face of "good when he's good, horrible when he's horrible". During the regular season Dalton is 30-18 but 0-3 in the post. Without pressure he completes about 66% of his passes but with pressure this number plummets to 38.8%. Dalton has had a good offensive line and some of the best talent positions in the NFL. Without an elite arm or feet Dalton could already be at his ceiling.

This contract also raises important decisions for other teams around the NFL. Dalton and Caepernick, both from the same draft class have already received extensions while the #1 pick Cam Newton is still playing on his rookie contract as is Andrew Luck and RGIII. If I were these teams I'd be getting ready to break the bank because they are going to demand (rightfully so) huge deals.

Bob Bowlsby: "I'd rather die than not be able to pad our schedules with FCS fodder".

Yesterday Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby made headlines during the annual Big 12 state-of-the-conference speech when he said cheating pays in NCAA sports. This came as a surprise to literally no one since everyone already knows this. What's unusual is this is coming from a major conference commissioner. Bowlsby went on to say enforcement is broken and anyone wants to cheat can do so easily.

I just can't get over how ridiculous it is. Bowlsby also said that all of these little things like college athletes trying to be treated faitly (get some kind of compensation for the billions of dollars they make for the schools - i.e. the O'Bannon case) are, well, just really putting schools in a tough spot. He said that, you know, they might just not be able to pay for collegiate sports like swimming and others. I don't like to type things in all caps but pretend I typed the following in all caps: This is coming from the guy who one of his own schools just offered to pay Nick Saban 100 million dollars. (I know it's not the same, I just wanted to link that). Bowlsby is a good guy, though. Really, that's what it's about: You can't do anything for any college athelete because you'd have to do it for everyone, female athletes and the less popular sports. I guess that's a good enough reason to do nothing and end the discussion.

Bolwby wasn't done saying stupd things yesterday, however. Today on Mike and Mike Bowlsby clarified his remarks, emphasizing that he really things most schools play by the books. There's just a few bad apples out there (mostly to the south and east of the Big 12). The dumbest part of the interview was how Bowlsby repeatedly asserted the importance of the "most visible 5 conferences", something I don't disagree with... They are driving the bus as far as NCAA athletics goes. However, in the same interview he advocated for the autonomy of the visible 5, he said when asked about whether or not the FCS conferences should be able to play their season in the Spring so as to not compete with the FBS for viewers, he said, and I'm paraphrasing, "I think it'd be best for the conferences to stick together" and "The FBS schools want to be part of us (the big 5). Lots of commas there, btw. I mean obviously not if they're thinking about going to the Spring to get away from you. I wonder why the commisioner of a major conference would think it's best for FCS schools to stay where they are? I'm sure it's because they are thinking of the best interests for the student athletes. I mean what kid wouldn't want to be shown on national television on the losing side of a 70-3 beat down?

It's hypocrisy is what it is.

the value of your sports dollar

C.R.E.A.M.

As the Lakers try desperately to even get into the playoffs this year, Jerry Buss must be spinning in his grave, if he's even in it yet. You would think with all the superstars and huge names on their team that winning would be a given, but time again we see that just because you pay huge amounts of money victory isn't assured. That got me thinking about money in sports and just how much of an effect it has. If money was the be all end all the Lakers would be champions every single year, so would the Yankees. Anyway, I looked up some stuff and made a post about it.